Stachys Alpina, Limestone Woundwort



Common name:
Limestone woundwort
Scientific name:
Stachys alpina
Main flower color:
Range:
A few locations in Gloucestershire, and one in Denbighshire, north Wales
Height:
Between 40 cm and 80 cm
Habitat:
Open woodland, calcareous grassland
Flowers:
Up to 22 mm long - a reddish purple, two-lipped corolla, the lower lip with white markings, and a shorter green calyx, divided about a third of its length into five triangular, bristle-tipped lobes. Each flower is subtended by a bract, about equal in length to the calyx
Leaves:
Opposite, up to 16 cm long, cordate around the base becoming ovate up the stem, on long stalks, with toothed margins and a covering of soft, silky hairs on both surfaces
Season:
June to August
Rarity:
★★★★★