HEDGE NETTLE 



Stachys tenuifolia Willd. 



June - July 111 lldwcis (i| ihc .Mini Inmily. insoi-ts nro needed to pol- 

 Moist fields liiijitf them and insure a good crop of seeds. The stnicture 

 of the llower. however, is such tlmt a hee would have a 

 difVicult time eulerini:' the tuhe of the l)h>ssoiii without the assistaui-e of 

 the broad lip which i> a Iniidiiii:- ]ilair. hi the hedge nettle the lower lip 

 ha.s become a broad, colorful stopping place. At the same time, this 

 elongation makes the woundwort one of the most attractive of tlie mint 

 llowers. 



The i)lant has glossy green leaves which are opjxisite on the .^(|uare, 

 ridged stem. The IIowcm's are arranged in a series of whorls around the 

 upper ])art of the stem, with a pair of small l(>aves in each whorl. The 

 calyx is bristly, but not ])rickly as in the motherwort. The llowers are a 

 bright, soft pink with tiny red speekles in the throat. The broad lower 

 li|) is the juncture of the three lower petals, while the arihed. hooded 

 u|)|)er ])art of the ilower is made of what once may have been the other 

 two |ietals. Thus the hedge nettle ajipears to have oidy two petals, but 

 nevertheless is a mint. .Mints are traditionally known to have five corolla 

 divisions even though, as in this case, they nuiy be fused as two or three. 



Hedge nettli^ grows today in low. wet plac(>s in sun or .<hade. along 

 railroad tiacks and roadside ditches, during most of the sununer. One 

 variety of hedge nettle long ago in Europe was given the name wound- 

 wort because its powdered leaves often were used in surgical dressings, 

 to Viind u]i wounds. 



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