woundwort

(Stachys pilosa var. arenicola)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACW - Facultative wetland

Midwest

FACW - Facultative wetland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACW - Facultative wetland

 
woundwort
 
 
Description

Woundwort is a 12 to 40 tall, erect, perennial forb that rises from a rhizome. It often forms colonies.

The stems are erect, square, hollow, and usually unbranched. They have copious hairs both on the ridges of the stem and between the ridges. The hairs on the ridges and those between the ridges are about alike and are somewhat bent downward.

The leaves are opposite, narrowly oblong or linear oblong, 1 to 3½ long, and to ¾ wide, rarely wider. They are mostly stalkless but some may be on short leaf stalks. The leaf blades taper to a point at the tip and are broadly rounded or almost heart-shaped at the base. The upper surface is green and hairy. The lower surface is paler green and has hairs along the major veins. The margins have rounded, forward-pointing teeth.

The inflorescence is a cluster of usually 6 flowers. Lower clusters rise from the upper leaf axils. Middle and upper clusters are opposite and are subtended by a small, leaf-like bract. Each pair of opposite flower clusters together form a false whorl. The bracts become gradually smaller as they ascend the stem.

The flowers are 7 16 to long. They have 5 green or purplish, hairy sepals that are fused at the base into a calyx tube ¼ to long and separated at the end into 5 lance-shaped lobes. The calyx lobes are nearly as long as the calyx tube and are hairy. There are 5 petals that are fused at the base into a corolla tube about ¼ long. The petals are pink or lavender with white spots. The calyx tube is always at least as long as the corolla tube. The corolla is divided at the end into 2 lips. The upper lip is about 3 16 long and wide, hood-like, hairy outside, hairless inside. The lower lip is divided at the tip into 3 lobes, a large central lobe and 2 smaller lateral lobes. There are 4 stamens protected beneath the hood.

The fruit is 4 greenish-white, 3-ribbed, 1-seeded nutlets. They turn black when they ripen.

 

Height

12 to 40

 

Flower Color

Pink or lavender with white spots

 

Similar Species

American germander (Teucrium canadense) flowers have a greatly reduced upper lip.

Hairy hedge nettle (Stachys hispida) stems have hairs on the ridges but no hairs between the ridges.

Marsh hedge nettle (Stachys palustris) stems have hairs on the ridges that are distinctly longer than those between the ridges. The leaves are wider, mostly ¾ to 1½ wide.

Smooth hedge nettle (Stachys tenuifolia) stems have hairs on the ridges but no hairs between the ridges. The leaves may have hairs along the midribs but are otherwise hairless.

Habitat

Moist to wet.

Ecology

Flowering

July to August

 

Pests and Diseases

 

Use

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 29, 30.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 6/20/2025).

6/20/2025    
     

Nativity

Native

     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae (green algae and land plants)

Subkingdom

Viridiplantae (green plants)

Infrakingdom

Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)

Superdivision

Embryophyta (land plants)

Division

Tracheophyta (vascular plants)

Subdivision

Spermatophytina (seed plants) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)

Superorder

Asteranae

Order

Lamiales (mints, plantains, olives, and allies)

Family

Lamiaceae (mint)

Subfamily

Lamioideae

Tribe

Stachydeae

Genus

Stachys (hedge nettles)

Species

Stachys pilosa (hairy hedge nettle)

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Stachys arenicola

Stachys brevidens

Stachys palustris var.arenicola

Stachys palustris ssp.arenicola

   

Common Names

hairy hedgenettle

hairy hedge-nettle

marsh betony

marsh hedge-nettle

prairie woundwort

woundwort

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Bract

Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.

 

Calyx

The group of outer floral leaves (sepals) below the petals, occasionally forming a tube.

 

Corolla

A collective name for all of the petals of a flower.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

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woundwort

 

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Slideshows

Stachys palustris homotricha WOUNDWORT
Frank Mayfield

Stachys palustris homotricha WOUNDWORT

 

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Created: 8/20/2005

Last Updated:

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