Stachys coccinea

Common Name: Scarlet Hedgenettle, Texas Betony
Oˊodham Name: [unknown]
Group: Forbs － Desert (washes), Chaparral, Madrean Woodland

Description

Stachys coccinea grows in rocky soil between about 1500 and 8000 feet elevation and puts on a brilliant show of red among rocks and along roadsides during the late Monsoon and early Fall. This species shows the typical features of the mint family, Lamiaceae: a square stem, wrinkled leaves with marginal teeth growing in opposite pairs, sepals are fused into a 5-pointed tube, and the flowers have 2 lips with the lower lip having 3 lobes. The stems grow to about 2 feet tall and the flowers are about 1-1/4 inches long.

Stachys coccinea
stem
whorls
flowers

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Asteridae

Order Lamiales

Family Lamiaceae － Mint family

Genus Stachys L. － hedgenettle

Species Stachys coccinea Ortega － scarlet hedgenettle

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map