Stachys aurea
| Stachys aurea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Stachys |
| Species: | S. aurea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Stachys aurea | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Stachys aurea, the golden woundwort, is a species of hedgenettle endemic to South Africa.[2][3]
Description
This species is a freely branched shrub 0.3–1 m (1 ft 0 in – 3 ft 3 in) tall, with spreading to ascending branches that are densely covered in yellowish-white stellate hairs.[4]
The leaves are small, subsessile or borne on short stalks, with thin-textured green blades that are obovate to narrowly elliptic, 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long. Both surfaces are sparsely to densely stellate-hairy, sometimes nearly hairless above. The tips are acute to blunt, the bases wedge-shaped, and the margins entire or with a few teeth near the apex.[4]
The flowers are produced at the ends of slender branches in few to several whorls, each bearing four to six flowers. The bracts resemble the leaves and are stellate-hairy. The calyx is densely yellowish and woolly, 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in) long. The corolla is yellow, with a short tube, an ascending upper lip, and a downward-curving lower lip.[4]
Stachys aurea flowers from September to February.[2][4]
Identification
This species can be distinguished from other Stachys within its range by its green leaves and the yellow-tinged woolly surface of its calyces.[4]
Distribution and habitat
Stachys aurea is found on clay or sandy slopes in the south-western Great Karoo – especially the Tankwa and the Roggeveld Mountains – to Pakhuis and southern Namaqualand.[2][4]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Stachys aurea". Red List of South African Plants. SANBI. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ a b c Manning, J., Goldblatt, P. (2012). Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Vol. 1. Pretoria: SANBI. p. 604. ISBN 9781919976747.
- ^ Klopper, R.R. & Winter, P.J.D., ed. (20 March 2025). "The South African National Plant Checklist: 2025 official yearly release". South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Retrieved 13 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f Codd, L. E. W., Dyer, R. A., Rycroft, H. B., de Winter, B. (1985). Flora of Southern Africa: The Republic of South Africa, Basutoland, Swaziland and South West Africa. Vol. 28. Govt. Printer. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0621082686.
External links
- SANBI Biodiversity Advisor
- Data related to Stachys aurea at Wikispecies