Teucrium scorodonia

Woodland germander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Teucrium
Species: T. scorodonia
Binomial name
Teucrium scorodonia

Teucrium scorodonia, common name the woodland germander[1] or wood sage, is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Teucrium of the Lamiaceae family. It is native to Western Europe and Tunisia, cultivated in many places as an ornamental plant in gardens, and naturalized in several regions (New Zealand, Azores, and a few locales in North America).[2][3]

Description

Teucrium scorodonia reaches on average 30–60 centimetres (12–24 in) of height. It is a hairy shrub with erect and branched stems. The leaves are petiolate, irregularly toothed, triangular-ovate to oblong shaped, lightly wrinkled. The inflorescence is composed by one-sided (all flowers "look" at the same side) pale green or yellowish flowers bearing four stamens with reddish or violet filaments. These flowers grow in the axils of the upper leaves and are hermaphrodite, tomentose and bilabiate but lack an upper lip, as all Teucrium ones. The flowering period extends from June through August. These plants are mainly pollinated by Hymenoptera species.

Subspecies

  • Teucrium scorodonia subsp. baeticum (Boiss. & Reut.) Tutin
  • Teucrium scorodonia subsp. euganeum (Vis.) Arcang

Habitat

These plants prefer sandy soils in woodland and acid heaths, at an altitude of 0–1,500 metres (0–4,921 ft) above sea level.

Plant of Teucrium scorodonia
Inflorescence of T. scorodonia
Inflorescence of T. scorodonia
Close-up on flowers of T. scorodonia
Leaf of T. scorodonia

References

  1. ↑ "Teucrium scorodonia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ Altervista Flora Italiana
  • Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia - Edagricole – 1982 Vol. II, pg. 443
  • "Teucrium scorodonia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
  • Pink, A. - |Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - Gardening for the Million


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