Stachys palustris L.
marsh woundwort
Rhizomatous perennial herb, to at least 1 m tall, almost odourless, sometimes producing elongated tubers 8-12 cm long. Stems hispid with some bulbous-based hairs. Petioles < 1 cm long or 0 in stem lvs (basal lvs not seen). Lamina 4-10 × 1.5-2.5 cm, ± oblong-lanceolate, hairy, crenate-serrate; base truncate to cordate; apex acute or short-acuminate. Bracts serrulate or crenulate, mostly very different from foliage lvs. Calyx 7-8 mm long, densely hairy; teeth ± = tube, narrowly triangular-subulate. Corolla c. 12 mm long; tube exserted from calyx lobes, eglandular, with simple hairs outside, rosy purple; upper lip hooded; lower lip > upper lip. Nutlets not seen.
N.: Wanganui area (mainly near the Turakina R.), Hokio Estuary (near Levin).
W. Eurasia 1878
FL Dec-Feb.
The only other sp. which produces tubers in N.Z. is the occasionally cultivated S. affinis Bunge, Chinese artichoke, and this has aborted fls which never open properly here.
