Stachys floridana

Last updated

Stachys floridana
Stachys floridana 114718683.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Stachys
Species:
S. floridana
Binomial name
Stachys floridana

Stachys floridana is a species of betony in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the United States, where its true native range is probably limited to Florida, but today it is known throughout the Southeast as an introduced species and common weed. [1] [2] It occurs as far west as Texas, [2] and it has been recorded in California. [3] Its common names include Florida betony, [1] Florida hedgenettle, [4] and rattlesnake weed. [3] It has been called wild artichoke, but it is not closely related to artichoke. [5] The plant was the Florida Department of Agriculture's "Weed of the Month" for February 2010. [3]

Contents

Description

This species is a perennial herb producing a hairy, erect stem up to about half a meter in maximum height. It grows from a network of rhizomes with tubers. The distinctive pale-colored tuber is several centimeters long and about one centimeter wide, and is segmented in such a way that it resembles the rattle on the tail of a rattlesnake, [6] the inspiration for the common name "rattlesnake weed". [2] The tuber is also said to resemble "a fat grub". [7] The tuber can reportedly grow up to one meter long in sandy soils. [2] The oppositely arranged leaves have blades up to 5.5 centimeters long borne on petioles up to 3.5 centimeters long. Flowers grow in clusters of 3 to 6 from the upper leaf axils. The tubular, hairy calyx of sepals has pointed lobes. The two-lipped corolla is up to 1.3 centimeters long [6] and white to pink with purple spots [8] or darker lines. [3] The fruit is a schizocarp a few centimeters long that splits in half. The seeds are about a millimeter long. [6]

Biology

The plant is a prolific producer of seeds, but it often undergoes vegetative reproduction via its rhizome and tubers. Small segments of rhizome can sprout into new plants, [3] and the transport of the tuber to new areas may be the most common way the plant spreads. [6] The plant grows in disturbed habitat types, such as roadsides, often on wet soils. It grows in turf and in beds of ornamental plants. [6]

Impact

The plant was considered to be a Florida endemic until the 1940s and 1950s, [6] when it began to spread throughout the southeastern United States. Its rhizome system extends easily into the loose soils of cultivated ground, and it became a weed of residential and commercial land. [5] It can be found in lawns and other turfgrass, especially centipedegrass and St. Augustine grass. [7] It is a weed of ornamentals, where it can be harder to control than in lawns, because fewer herbicides are approved for use on ornamental herbs and shrubs than on turfgrasses. [2] It is one of the worst weeds of the cultivated ornamental leatherleaf fern (Rumohra adiantiformis). [9] Weed control in ornamentals may require hand-pulling, with careful removal of all the tubers. [2]

Uses

Tuber Stachys floridana root.jpg
Tuber

Much like its relative, the Chinese artichoke, the "crisp, succulent" tuber is edible, [2] and has "a pleasingly crunchy texture and a bland, slightly sweet taste". [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Leucanthemum vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant

Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand.

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

Stachys is one of the largest genera in the flowering plant family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species in the genus vary from about 300, to about 450. The type species for the genus is Stachys sylvatica. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae. Generic limits and relationships in this subfamily are poorly known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perennial plant</span> Plant that lives for more than two years

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.

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

Stachys affinis, commonly called crosne, Chinese artichoke, Japanese artichoke, knotroot, or artichoke betony, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Lamiaceae, originating from China. Its rhizome is a root vegetable that can be eaten raw, pickled, dried or cooked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stolon</span> Horizontal connections between organisms

In biology, stolons, also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.

<i>Nephrolepis exaltata</i> Species of fern

Nephrolepis exaltata, known as the sword fern or Boston fern, is a species of fern in the family Lomariopsidaceae. It is native to the Americas. This evergreen plant can reach as high as 40–90 centimetres (16–35 in), and in extreme cases up to 1.5 metres. It is also known as the Boston swordfern, wild Boston fern, Boston Blue Bell Fern, tuber ladder fern, or fishbone fern.

<i>Imperata cylindrica</i> Species of grass

Imperata cylindrica is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been introduced to Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southeastern United States. It is a highly flammable pyrophyte, and can spread rapidly by colonizing disturbed areas and encouraging more frequent wildfires.

<i>Cyperus rotundus</i> Species of plant

Cyperus rotundus is a species of sedge (Cyperaceae) native to Africa, southern and central Europe, and southern Asia. The word cyperus derives from the Greek κύπερος, kyperos, and rotundus is from Latin, meaning "round". The earliest attested form of the word cyperus is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀞𐀫, ku-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script.

<i>Dioscorea trifida</i> Species of yam

Dioscorea trifida is a species of flowering plant in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is a species of yam. It is native to the Caribbean and Central and South America. Its many common names include Indian yam, cush-cush, and yampee. It is called mapuey in Venezuela, inhame in Brazil, tabena and ñame in Colombia, sacha papa in Peru, and ñampi in Costa Rica.

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

Stachys palustris, commonly known as marsh woundwort, clown's woundwort, clown's heal-all, marsh hedgenettle, or hedge-nettle, is an edible perennial grassland herb growing to 80 centimeters tall. It is native to parts of Eurasia but has been introduced to North America. The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.

<i>Campanula rapunculoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia,. in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.

<i>Berteroa incana</i> Species of plant

Berteroa incana is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae. Its common names include hoary alyssum, false hoary madwort, hoary berteroa, and hoary alison. It is a biennial herb native to Eurasia and it has been introduced to western Europe and North America. It is listed as an invasive noxious weed in some areas of United States and Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weed</span> Plant considered undesirable in a particular place or situation

A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted. This introduces the concept of humans and their goals in a particular setting. The concept of weeds is particularly significant in agriculture, where the aim is growing crops or pastures of a single species, or a mixture of a few desired species. In such environments, other plant species are considered undesirable and therefore a weed. Besides, some weeds have undesirable characteristics making them a plant pest in most human settings.

<i>Cytisus multiflorus</i> Species of legume

Cytisus multiflorus is a species of legume known by the common names white broom, white spanishbroom and Portuguese broom.

<i>Dicranopteris linearis</i> Species of plant

Dicranopteris linearis is a common species of fern known by many common names, including Old World forked fern, uluhe (Hawaiian), and dilim (Filipino). It is one of the most widely distributed ferns of the wet Old World tropics and adjacent regions, including Polynesia and the Pacific. In parts of the New World tropics its niche is filled by its relative, Dicranopteris pectinatus.

<i>Panicum hemitomon</i> Species of grass

Panicum hemitomon is a species of grass known by the common name maidencane. It is native to North America, where it occurs along the southeastern coastline from New Jersey to Texas. It is also present in South America.

<i>Panicum repens</i> Species of plant

Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedograss, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. Its exact native range is obscure. Sources suggest that the grass is native to "Africa and/or Asia", "Europe or Australia", "Eurasia", "Australia", "Europe, Asia, and Africa", or other specific regions, including the Mediterranean, Israel, and Argentina. It is present in many places as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It has been called "one of the world's worst weeds."

<i>Paspalum vaginatum</i> Species of plant

Paspalum vaginatum is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch. It is native to the Americas, where it grows in tropical and subtropical regions. It is found throughout the other tropical areas of the world, where it is an introduced species and sometimes an invasive weed. It is also cultivated as a turfgrass in many places.

<i>Stachytarpheta cayennensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Stachytarpheta cayennensis is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by many English language common names, including blue snakeweed, Cayenne snakeweed, dark-blue snakeweed, bluetop, nettle-leaf porterweed, rattail, rough-leaf false vervain, blue rat's tail, Brazilian tea, Cayenne vervain, false verbena, joee, nettleleaf velvetberry, and Cayenne porterweed. Names in other languages include honagasō (Japanese), gervão-urticante, piche de gato, rabo de zorro (Spanish), herbe á chenille, herbe bleue, queue de rat (French), ōi or ōwī (Hawaiian), sakura or ouchung (Chuukese), and tiāki (Māori). It is native to the Americas, from Mexico south through Central and South America to Argentina, as well as many islands of the Caribbean. It is known in many other parts of the world as an introduced species, including regions in Africa, India, Indonesia, Australia, Florida in the United States, and many Pacific Islands. Its distribution is now considered pantropical. In many places, such as New Caledonia, it has become an invasive species.

<i>Alysicarpus vaginalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the legume family

Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.

References

  1. 1 2 "Stachys floridana". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Czarnota, M. and T. Murphy. Controlling Florida Betony in the Landscape. C 867-11. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia. 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Weaver, R. Weed of the Month, February, 2010: Stachys floridana, Florida Betony, Rattlesnake Weed. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.
  4. Stachys floridana. USDA PLANTS.
  5. 1 2 Burgess, C. Florida Betony. Home and Garden Information Center. Clemson University Cooperative Extension. 2005, revised 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hall, D. W., et al. Florida Betony, Stachys floridana Shuttlew. Weeds in Florida (SP 37). Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida IFAS. 1991, revised 2006.
  7. 1 2 Florida Betony (Stachys floridana). North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
  8. Florida Betony or Rattlesnake Weed: Stachys floridana. Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide.
  9. Stamps, R. H. (1992). Prodiamine controlled Florida betony (Stachys floridana) in leatherleaf fern (Rumohra adiantiformis). Weed Technology 6(4) 961-67.