Description: Annual or perennial herb; branches 4-angular; hairs simple.
Leaves opposite; margins toothed, finely crenate or entire; sessile or petiolate.
Inflorescence in upper leaf axils, appearing terminal, each flower cluster 2–6-flowered; basal internodes ± elongated; upper subtending leaves reduced and becoming bract-like. Sepals ± equally fused, with lower lobes narrower than upper lobes, hairy, often glandular. Corolla 2-lipped; lower lip broadly oblong-cuneate with 2 short lateral lobes and a broader 2-lobed central lobe; upper lip narrow-obovate and hooded. Stamens 4, fertile; anthers 2-locular, with loculi strongly divergent, enclosed in the hood of the upper lip of the corolla. Ovary deeply 4-lobed; style gynobasic; stigma 2-fid.
Mericarps rounded or keeled.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 300 species, mainly tropical & subtropical regions. Australia: 2 species (naturalized), all States except N.T.
Text by B. J. Conn
Taxon concept:
| One species in NSW: Stachys arvensis |
|
