Marsh Hedge-Nettle Wildflowers Found in Oregon
Marsh Hedge-Nettle

Stachys palustris - Flowers are whorled around the stem, usually in groups of 6, in a spike cluster 2 to 3 inches long. Individual flowers are about 1/2 inch long and irregular; the outside of the upper lip is covered in very short hairs, and the lower lip is lobed in 3 parts. Color is pink to lavender with white and darker purplish spots on the inside of the lower lip. There are 4 dark purple stamens under the upper lip. The bracts are hairy and green or purplish with slightly flaring triangular lobes about as long as the flower tube. One plant may have multiple spikes. Leaves are up to 4 inches long and 1 1/4 inches wide, with serrated edges, a pointed tip and a rounded or somewhat heart-shaped base. The leaf stem is up to 1/8 inch long, or absent altogether, and the leaf surfaces are hairy to varying degrees with short, fine hairs. Attachment is opposite, with a pair of leaves at a right angle to the pair below it. The main stem is square and hairy along the angles.

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