{{Short description|Plant species in the mint family}} {{Speciesbox | image = Stachys palustris - soo-nõianõges.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="IUCN">{{cite iucn |author=Khela, S. |author2=Lansdown, R.V. |year=2014 |title=''Stachys palustris'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T203274A42396400 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T203274A42396400.en |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref> | genus = Stachys | species = palustris | authority = L. | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=459820-1 |title=''Stachys palustris'' L. |access-date=27 December 2024}}</ref> | synonyms = {{Species list | Stachys aquatica | Bubani | Stachys austriaca | Heynh. | Stachys maeotica | Postrig. | Stachys segetum | Hagen | Stachys wolgensis | Wilensky }} }} thumb|Inflorescence '''''Stachys palustris''''', commonly known as '''marsh woundwort''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> '''marsh betony''', '''clown's woundwort''', '''clown's heal-all''', '''marsh hedgenettle''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=STPA|taxon=Stachys palustris|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref> or '''hedge-nettle''',<ref name=ROM>Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 298.</ref> is an edible<ref>[http://www.northernbushcraft.com/plants/swampHedgeNettle/notes.htm northern bushcraft]</ref> perennial grassland herb growing to 80 centimeters tall. It is native to parts of Eurasia but has been introduced to North America.<ref name=ROM/> The species epithet ''palustris'' is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat.<ref>Archibald William Smith {{google books|ahNMkgoNJ7IC|A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins|page=258}}</ref>
==Description== Marsh woundwort is a perennial plant growing from a horizontal tuberous runner. It has square stems with opposite pairs of leaves that are almost stalkless, linearly lanceolate, slightly cordate at the base and toothed. The calyx has five sharply-pointed lobes. The purplish-red flowers are in terminal spikes, with gaps in the lower part of the spike. They are arranged in whorls, each flower consisting of five fused petals, the corolla being two-lipped, the upper lip being gently hooded and the lower lip flat and three-lobed. The flowers are mostly visited by bumblebees.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/plb.12328| title = Competition for pollinators and intra-communal spectral dissimilarity of flowers| journal = Plant Biology| pages = 56–62| year = 2015| last1 = Van Der Kooi | first1 = C. J.| last2 = Pen | first2 = I.| last3 = Staal | first3 = M.| last4 = Stavenga | first4 = D. G.| last5 = Elzenga | first5 = J. T. M.| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273158762 | pmid=25754608 | volume=18| issue = 1| hdl = 11370/caee8d0d-9724-4056-9d45-93162a5a7afc| hdl-access = free}}</ref> There are four stamens, two long and two short and the fruit is a dry four-chambered schizocarp.<ref>Webb, D.A., Parnell, J. and Doogue, D. (1996) ''An Irish Flora.'' Dundalgan Press (W.Tempest) Ltd. {{ISBN|0-85221-131-7}}</ref><ref name=NatureGate>{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/marsh-woundwort |title=Marsh woundwort: ''Stachys palustris'' |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-14}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The marsh woundwort is native to Europe and Asia. Its typical habitat is near the shore of lakes, in marshes with alder trees, on the banks of ditches and streams, in damp meadows, in arable ground and in waste places. In arable land, it is a difficult weed to get rid of because of its persistent tubers.<ref name=NatureGate/>
==Ecology== Although the marsh woundwort has little fragrance, it is very attractive to bumblebees. Nectar indicators guide the insect to probe into the centre of the flower and the anthers of the stamens and the pistils are correctly located for the insect to transfer pollen between flowers. The seeds of this plant disperse well, the dry fruit capsules float away and this probably why the plant is frequently found on the banks of lakes and other bodies of water. It also spreads vegetatively by means of hollow tuberous root which can throw up shoots far from the original plant.<ref name=NatureGate/>
==Uses== As their common names suggest, along with its close relatives field woundwort and hedge woundwort it is used to promote the healing of wounds. Wort is a middle English word for an herb or vegetable.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/weeds/Stachys_palustris/ Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia & Neighboring Countries]
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palustris Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus