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Sub-shrub of the Lamiaceae family, native to the Balkans, mainly from Romania, Serbia, and adjacent regions, where it colonizes limestone rockeries, rocky slopes, and dry high-altitude lawns, generally between 500 and 1,800 meters.
It forms fairly vigorous bushy clumps, 10 to 20 cm in height when in bloom, with upright or ascending well-branched stems. The leaves are small, oval to elliptical, medium green, slightly ciliated on the margins, which is clearly visible to the naked eye. This ciliated characteristic, combined with distinctly hairy stems on two opposite sides, is a useful identification criterion in this often complex genus.
The inflorescence is particularly remarkable, forming long, erect, and dense spikes, abundantly covered with bright pink to lilac-pink flowers, with very prominent stamens that give the flower heads a very characteristic fringed and airy appearance. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August. In cultivation, it generally occurs in June-July.
It adapts well to rock gardens in temperate climates, provided it is given full sun and a draining, neutral to calcareous soil. Its hardiness is good. Highly melliferous, it abundantly attracts bees and bumblebees during its flowering period, as can be directly observed in the photographs.