Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300 to about 450. Plants of the World Online accepts 373 species. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.
Range and naming
The distribution of the genus covers Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and North America. Common names include hedgenettle, heal-all, self-heal, woundwort, betony, Monty plant and lamb's ears.
Stachys was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. The name is derived from the Greek word σταχυς (stachys), meaning "an ear of grain", and refers to the fact that the inflorescence is often a spike. The name woundwort derives from the past use of certain species in herbal medicine for the treatment of wounds.
Human uses
The Chinese artichoke or Crosne (S. affinis), is grown for its edible tuber. Several species are cultivated as ornamentals. Woolly betony (S. byzantina) is a popular decorative garden plant. Wood betony (S. officinalis) was historically a highly valued medicinal plant.
Use by other species
Stachys species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the moths Coleophora auricella, C. lineolea, and C. wockeella, all recorded on S. officinalis. They are also widely used by the European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum), which scrape the hairs from the plant in order to use them for building their nests.
Description
Stachys is a genus of shrubs and annual or perennial herbs. The stems vary from 50–300 cm (20–120 in) tall, with simple, opposite, triangular leaves, 1–14 cm (0.4–5.5 in) long with serrate margins. In most species, the leaves are softly hairy. The flowers are 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in) long, clustered in the axils of the leaves on the upper part of the stem. The corolla is 5-lobed with the top lobe...
