Stachys lamarckii

Stachys lamarckii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species:
S. lamarckii
Binomial name
Stachys lamarckii
Synonyms
  • Stachys nutans Benth.
  • Stachys rugosa Lam.
  • Sideritis decumbens Thunb.

Stachys lamarckii, the coddled woundwort, is a species of hedgenettle found in South Africa and Namibia.[2][3]

Description

This species is a shrub 0.2–1 m (7.9 in – 3 ft 3.4 in) tall, with ascending branches that are densely white and woolly on younger growth, becoming glabrous and brownish-purple with age.[4]

The leaves are subsessile or borne on short stalks, with fairly thick, rugose blades that are elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long. The upper surface is sparsely to fairly densely stellate-tomentose, while the lower surface is more densely woolly. The leaf margins are crenate, with rounded to blunt tips and obtuse to wedge-shaped bases.[4]

The flowers are arranged in few to several dense whorls, each bearing six or more flowers, becoming more crowded towards the apex of the inflorescence. The calyx is very densely white to cream-coloured and woolly, 8–11 mm (0.31–0.43 in) long. The corolla is yellow, with a short tube, an ascending upper lip, and a spreading lower lip.[4]

Stachys lamarckii flowers from August to October.[2][4]

Distribution and habitat

Stachys lamarckii is found among rocks in the mountains of the south-western Great Karoo through the Namaqualand to the Richtersveld at altitudes of 600–1,500 m (2,000–4,900 ft). There are records from far-southern Namibia too.[2][4]

Etymology

The species epithet honours the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck (1744–1829).

Notes

  1. ^ "Stachys lamarckii". Red List of South African Plants. SANBI. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  2. ^ a b c Snijman, D.A. (ed.) (2013). Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Vol. 2. Pretoria: SANBI. p. 412. ISBN 9781919976778.
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ a b c d e 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. p. 73. ISBN 0621082686.

See also

  • SANBI Biodiversity Advisor
  • Media related to Stachys lamarckii at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Stachys lamarckii at Wikispecies