Stachys palustris

Perennial of the Lamiaceae family, this marsh woundwort is widely distributed across Europe, temperate Asia, and North America. True to its epithet, it colonizes wet to waterlogged environments, riverbanks, ditches, marshy meadows, and reed beds, from plains to mountainous areas.

The stems, erect and distinctly quadrangular, reach 40 to 80 cm, bearing sessile or shortly petiolate leaves, lanceolate to oblong, crenate, slightly rough and pubescent, of a medium green. The plant spreads by creeping rhizomes, sometimes forming extensive colonies. The elongated terminal flower spikes bear bilabiate flowers of a delicate pink-lilac, spotted with whitish marks on the lower lip, arranged in well-spaced whorls along the stem.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to September. In cultivation, it generally blooms from July to August.

A honey plant, it is frequented by many pollinating insects. Its root tubers were once consumed, especially during times of famine, boiled or roasted; this use is reported in several European ethnobotanical floras. It is suitable for wetland gardens, landscaped banks, and wet meadows, in constantly fresh to waterlogged soil, in the sun or light partial shade. Its rhizomatous nature can make it invasive in small spaces.