Stachys byzantina

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Stachys byzantina
0 Stachys byzantina - Yvoire (2).JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species:
S. byzantina
Binomial name
Stachys byzantina
Synonyms [1]
  • Eriostomum lanatumHoffmanns. & Link
  • Stachys lanataJacq. nom. illeg.
  • Stachys olympicaPoir.
  • Stachys tauricaZefir.

Stachys byzantina (syn. S. lanata), the lamb's-ear [2] (lamb's ear) [3] or woolly hedgenettle, [4] is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. [5] [6] It is cultivated throughout much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escapee from gardens. Plants are very often found under the synonym Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica.

Contents

Lamb's-ear flowers in late spring and early summer; plants produce tall spike-like stems with a few reduced leaves. The flowers are small and light purple. The plants tend to be evergreen but can "die back” during cold winters and regenerate new growth from the crowns.


Description

Lamb's-ears are herbaceous perennials, usually densely covered with gray or silver-white, silky-lanate hairs. They are named lamb's ears because of the leaves' curved shape and white, soft, fur-like hair coating. Flowering stems are erect, often branched, and tend to be 4-angled, growing 40–80 cm tall. The leaves are thick and somewhat wrinkled, densely covered on both sides with gray-silver colored, silky-lanate hairs; the undersides are more silver-white in color than the top surfaces. The leaves are arranged oppositely on the stems and 5 to 10 cm long. The leaf petioles are semiamplexicaul (the bases wrapping halfway around the stem) with the basal leaves having blades oblong-elliptic in shape, measuring 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide (though variation exists in cultivated forms). The leaf margins are crenulate but covered with dense hairs, the leaf apexes attenuate, gradually narrowing to a rounded point.

Flowers

The flowering spikes are 10–22 cm long, producing verticillasters that each have many flowers and are crowded together over most of the length on the spike-like stem. The leaves produced on the flowering stems are greatly reduced in size and subsessile, the lower ones slightly longer than the interscholastic and the upper ones shorter than the verticillasters. The leaf bracteoles are linear to linear-lanceolate in shape and 6 mm long.

The flowers have no pedicels (sessile) and the calyx is tubular-campanulate in shape, being slightly curved and 1.2 cm long. The calyx is glabrous except for the inside surface of the teeth, having 10 veins with the accessory veins inconspicuous. The 2–3 mm long calyx teeth are ovate-triangular in shape and are subequal or the posterior teeth larger, with rigid apices. The corollas have some darker purple tinted veins inside; they are 1.2 cm long with silky-lanate hairs but bases that are glabrous. The corolla tubes are about 6 mm long with the upper lip ovate in shape with entire margins; the lower lips are subpatent with the middle lobe broadly ovate in shape, lateral lobes oblong. The stamen filaments are densely villous from the base to the middle. The styles are exserted much past the corolla. There are immature nutlets without hairs, brown in color and oblong in shape. [7] [8]

Cultivation

Lamb's-ear is a commonly grown plant for children's gardens, as it is easy to grow and the thick felt-like leaves are fun to touch. It is also used as an edging plant. In Brazil it is used as an edible herb, called peixinho-da-horta prepared battered and deep-fried sprinkled with lemon juice and said to taste fish-like. It has sometimes been used as a medicinal plant.

A number of cultivars exist including white flowering forms, plants with shorter habit and plants that do not bloom as much:

Lamb's-ear is quite popular for a multitude of insects and hummingbirds but in particular bees. One special type of bee known as the wool carder bee collects the fuzz from the leaves to use for making nests in decayed wood. It has also been documented that bumble bees congregate in morning hours to collect the water condensation that has accumulated on the leaves. [9] [10]

Uses

Stachys byzantina extract has shown antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to vancomycin. [11]

Due to its relatively high rate of evapotranspiration, Stachys byzantina is a potentially useful species for rainwater retention and therefore flood prevention. [12]

Chemical components

Essential oil extracted from leaves of Stachys byzantina has light yellow colour and yields 0.25 %. Hydrodistilled essential oil are rich in 1.8-cineole (14.8 %), linalool (12.9 %), cubenol (9.9 %), germacrene-D (9.6 %), α-terpineol (7.8 %), menthone (6.9 %) and (Z)-lanceol acetate (6.2 %). [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Stachys</i> Genus of plants in the sage family

Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300, to about 450. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.

<i>Salvia spathacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Salvia spathacea, the California hummingbird sage or pitcher sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to southern and central California growing from sea level to 610 m (2,001 ft). This fruity scented sage blooms in March to May with typically dark rose-lilac colored flowers. It is cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowering spikes and pleasant scent.

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<i>Cyananthus lobatus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Leonurus sibiricus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Stachys sylvatica</i> Species of herb

Stachys sylvatica, commonly known as hedge woundwort, whitespot, or sometimes as hedge nettle, is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 80 cm (31 in) tall in woodland and unmanaged grassland. In temperate zones of the northern hemisphere it flowers in July and August. The flowers are purple. The leaves, when crushed or bruised, give off an unpleasant fetid smell.

<i>Scrophularia oblongifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Scrophularia oblongifolia, green figwort, is a perennial herbaceous plant found in Europe and Asia. It grows in damp, shady places such as wet woodland and ditches.

<i>Stachys recta</i> Species of flowering plant

Stachys recta, commonly known as stiff hedgenettle or perennial yellow-woundwort, is herbaceous perennial plant of the family Lamiaceae.

<i>Ipomoea arborescens</i> Species of tree

Ipomoea arborescens, the tree morning glory, is a rapidly-growing, semi-succulent flowering tree in the family Convolvulaceae. This tropical plant is mostly found in Mexico, and flowers in late autumn and winter. Its common name in Nahuatl is Cazahuatl or Cazahuate.

<i>Goodenia lanata</i> Species of flowering plant

Goodenia lanata, commonly known as trailing goodenia in Victoria and native primrose in Tasmania is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a prostrate or low-lying perennial herb with hairy, egg-shaped leaves and racemes of yellow flowers.

<i>Pedicularis verticillata</i> Species of flowering plant

Pedicularis verticillata, the whorled lousewort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae which can be found in Alaska, North-Western Canada, and everywhere in China at the elevation of 2,100–4,400 metres (6,900–14,400 ft). Its native habitats include moist meadows and lakeshores.

<i>Scaevola basedowii</i> Species of plant

Scaevola basedowii is an erect multi-stemmed shrub in the family Goodeniaceae, endemic to Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia.

<i>Mirbelia platylobioides</i> Species of legume

Mirbelia platylobioides is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is a small, prostrate plant with trailing stems, yellow and red pea flowers and ovate leaves. It is endemic to New South Wales.

Echium rosulatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is endemic to the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula in Portugal, Galicia (Spain) and the Sierra Morena. It favors acidic and somewhat nitrified soil. It has two subspecies, one native to mainland Iberia and the other one native to the Berlengas archipelago.

<i>Stachys stebbinsii</i> Species of plant

Stachys stebbinsii is a species of perennial herb in the mint family commonly known as Stebbins' hedgenettle. This plant is characterized by a musky aroma, flowers with large lower lips, and glandular hairs that densely cover the stems. S. stebbinsii is native to California and northwestern Baja California. It is usually found growing in moist places in a wide variety of habitats including disturbed areas, chaparral, coastal sage scrub and mountains.

<i>Myosotis <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> bollandica</i> Hybrid species of flowering plant

Myosotis × bollandica, also known as the Bowland forget-me-not, is a hybrid species of flowering plant within the genus Myosotis and family Boraginaceae. The hybrid displays an overall appearance intermediate between the parent species M. secunda and M. stolonifera.

<i>Primula wollastonii</i> Species of flowering plant.

Primula wollastonii, also known as Wollaston's primrose, is a species of flowering plant within the genus Primula and family Primulaceae. The species was first discovered and collected by A. F. Wollaston during an expedition to Mount Everest in 1921. The plant would later be scientifically described by Scottish botanist Isaac Bayley Balfour, who named the species P.Wollastonii after a request from Wollaston who had first discovered it.

<i>Ourisia spathulata</i> Species of flowering plants

Ourisia spathulata is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae that is endemic to high-elevation habitats in Southland on the South Island of New Zealand. Mary Kalin Arroyo described O. spathulata in 1984. Plants of this species of New Zealand mountain foxglove are perennial, small-leaved herbs that are covered in a mixture of glandular and non-glandular hairs. They have velvety, hairy, crenate, spathulate leaves that are oppositely arranged and tightly packed along the creeping stem. The flowers are single or in pairs in each node, with a zygomorphic calyx and corolla. The corolla is white and the corolla tube is glabrous and yellow inside. It is listed as At Risk - Naturally Uncommon.

<i>Ourisia calycina</i> Species of flowering plants

Ourisia calycina is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae that is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand and was described by William Colenso in 1889. Plants of this species are showy, perennial, large-leaved, tufted, rhizomatous herbs that are mostly glabrous (hairless) or with some non-glandular hairs. They have broadly ovate leaves. The flowers are in whorls in each node, with a regular calyx, a large, white irregular corolla, and fruits up to 1 cm long. The corolla tube is yellow with three lines of yellow hairs inside. It is listed as Not Threatened.

<i>Ourisia macrocarpa</i> Species of flowering plants

Ourisia macrocarpa or snowy mountain foxglove is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae that is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Joseph Dalton Hooker described O. macrocarpa in 1853. Plants of this species of New Zealand foxglove are showy, perennial, large-leaved, tufted, rhizomatous herbs that are mostly glabrous (hairless) or with some non-glandular hairs. They have broadly ovate leaves. The flowers are in whorls in each node, with an irregular calyx, a large, white irregular corolla, and fruits up to 1 cm long. The corolla tube is yellow with three lines of yellow hairs inside. It is listed as Not Threatened.

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species , retrieved 19 November 2015
  2. ↑ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ↑ "Stachys byzantina". RHS. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ↑ NRCS. "Stachys byzantina". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Euro+Med Plantbase: Stachys byzantina
  6. ↑ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN   0-333-47494-5.
  7. ↑ Stachys lanata in Flora of China @ efloras.org
  8. ↑ "Missouriplants.com". Archived from the original on 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  9. ↑ "A non-threatening water source for bees". Honey Bee Suite. 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  10. ↑ Bradbury, Kate (2016-07-29). "Plant lambs' ears and keep wool carder bees happy". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  11. ↑ Jamshidi M., Gharaei Fathabad E., Eslamifar M.,"Antibacterial activity of some medicinal plants against antibiotics." Planta Medica. Conference: 59th International Congress and Annual Meeting of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research Antalya Turkey. Conference Publication: (var.pagings). 77 (12), 2011
  12. ↑ Kemp, S.; Hadley, P.; Blanuša, T. (2018-11-29). "The influence of plant type on green roof rainfall retention". Urban Ecosystems . 22 (2): 355–366. doi:10.1007/s11252-018-0822-2. ISSN   1083-8155. S2CID   54026185.
  13. ↑ Mostafavi, Hossein; Seyyed Hamedy, Mousavi; Zalaghi, Amin; Delsouzi, Rahman (2013). "Chemical Composition of Essential Oil of Stachys byzantina from North-West Iran". Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants. 16 (3): 334–337. doi:10.1080/0972060X.2013.813233.
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