About Stachys hispida Pursh
Stachys hispida, commonly called hispid hedgenettle, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to eastern North America, occurring in both Canada and the United States. Its natural habitat consists of moist areas, including alluvial banks, bottomland forests, and wet meadows. This species is a perennial herb that produces purple and white flowers during mid-summer. It is very closely related to Stachys tenuifolia, and was historically classified as a variety of that species. Stachys hispida can be distinguished from S. tenuifolia by its greater density of hairs (pubescence) on its leaves, stem, and calyx, as well as its typically unbranched stem. The taxonomy of the Stachys genus found in the eastern United States remains poorly understood, and this group is currently the subject of ongoing research. Just in the 2010s, four new Stachys species were described from the Southeast region of the United States.
