Stachys palustris (Marsh Hedge Nettle)

Plant Info

Also known as:	Woundwort
Genus:	Stachys
Family:	Lamiaceae (Mint)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun to part shade; wet fields, along streams and ponds, edges of woods
Bloom season:	summer
Plant height:	1 to 3 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Flowers are whorled around the stem, usually in groups of 6, in a spike cluster 2 to 3 inches long. Individual flowers are about ½ inch long and irregular; the outside of the upper lip is covered in very short hairs, and the lower lip is lobed in 3 parts. Color is pink to lavender with white and darker purplish spots on the inside of the lower lip. There are 4 dark purple stamens under the upper lip. The bracts are hairy and green or purplish with slighly flaring triangular lobes about as long as the flower tube. One plant may have multiple spikes.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are up to 4 inches long and 1½ inches wide, with serrated edges, a pointed tip and a rounded or somewhat heart-shaped base. The leaf stem is up to 1/8 inch long, or absent altogether, and the leaf surfaces are hairy to varying degrees with short, fine hairs. Attachment is opposite, with a pair of leaves at a right angle to the pair below it. The main stem is square and hairy along the angles.

Notes:

There are 3 species of Hedge Nettle in Minnesota; distinguishing features are the length of the leaf stem and the hairiness of various parts. Marsh Hedge Nettle has little or no leaf stem, hairy bracts and stem, and very short hairs on the outside of the flower. Marsh Hedge Nettle is similar to Germander, but its flower has a distinctly split upper lip

More photos

• Marsh Hedge Nettle plants, near 3 feet tall

Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN July 2007 and 2008

Comments

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