Stachys stebbinsii
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.
Description
Stachys stebbinsii is a rhizomatous perennial herb. The leaves, upper stems, and calyx are abundantly covered in dense, yellowish, sticky, mostly glandular hairs that emit a strong musky odor. The size of the lower lip on the corolla, the strong odor, the cordate leaves, and the dense glandular hairs on the stem distinguish this species from Stachys rigida and Stachys ajugoides.The rhizomes are white and fleshy, thick. The stems are erect and grow up to tall, and are generally robust in habit, covered in a sticky resin. The petioles measure up to long. The leaves are shaped broadly lanceolate to narrowly cordate, with an acute tip, measuring long by wide. The leaf base is shaped truncate to strongly cordate, and the leaf margins have a prominent scalloped edge.
The inflorescences are 6-flowered clusters. On the flower, the calyx tube measures long, with the individual lobes measuring long. The corolla is a whitish, pale-pink to pink and is long. The corolla is labiate, with a small upper lip and a larger lower lip measuring long by wide. The seeds are dark brown to black in color and measure by.
Taxonomy
Stachys stebbinsii was described by Gerald A. Mulligan and Derek B. Munro in their 1989 treatment on the Stachys species of North America. Before it was described, S. stebbinsii was usually included under Stachys rigida or Stachys ajugoides var. rigida. The chromosome number is 2n = 66.Stachys stebbinsii is named after G. Ledyard Stebbins.