Stachys

Stachys, a genus of plants of the natural order Labiatae, containing a great number of species, mostly European, having a ten-ribbed calyx, with five nearly equal teeth, the upper lip of the corolla entire, and the lower lip three-lobed. Several species are natives of Britain. S. sylvatica is very common in shady places, a coarse herbaceous plant, sometimes called Hedge Nettle, with stem two to three feet high, ovate heart-shaped leaves on long stalks, whorls of purple flowers, and unpleasant smell. S. palustris is another very common British species, growing in moist places, and sometimes proving a very troublesome weed in meadows. The plant was formerly used as a vulnerary, and has therefore the English name Woundwort. Several species are not unfrequently to be seen in flower-gardens. To this genus some botanists refer the Common Betony or Wood Betony (S. betonica, or Betonica officinalis), plentiful in woods and thickets in the southern parts of Britain, a plant one or two feet high, with hairy stem, oblong heart-shaped leaves, whorls of purple or white flowers, and a fetid smell. It was formerly much used in medicine. The roots, in small doses, are emetic and aperient.