Stachys agraria Raf., shade betony. Annual, taprooted, not rosetted, several–stemmed at base, decumbent and spreading to ascending, in range 8—40 cm tall; shoots with widely spaced pairs of cauline leaves, hirsute–pilose and short–pilose and with short–stalked glandular hairs, pleasantly aromatic.
Stems 4–sided, to 3 mm diameter, green, internodes to 85 mm long, not woody.
Leaves opposite decussate, simple, petiolate and fused across node, without stipules; petiole channeled, to 35 mm long (lower cauline leaves) decreasing upward (bracts ± sessile), at midpoint < 1 mm diameter; blade ± ovate, 10—35 × 10—26 mm, subtruncate to subcordate at base, crenate to low crenate–serrate on margins, the teeth with callus point, obtuse at tip, pinnately veined having 3 major veins at base and principal veins slightly sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, hairs mostly straight and < 0.5 mm long and shorter hairs with colorless glandular heads.
Inflorescence paired axillary cymes (verticils) at every node of canopy, each cyme often 3–flowered, center flower anthesis before anthesis of lateral flowers, bracteate, glandular–hairy with stalked hairs to 0.2 mm long; bracts paired at node, bract subsessile with enlarged base at stem, fused across node; blade spreading later reflexed, elliptic or obovate to ovate, bract < the uppermost cauline leaves decreasing upward, green, low–serrate to entire on margins; bractlets 2 subtending pedicel, ± linear, to 1.9 mm long, mostly < pedicel, greenish, with swollen base; pedicel cylindric, ± 1.5 mm long increasing some in fruit, green or tinged purple–red (especially hair bases), short–hirsute.
Flower bisexual, ± radial, ca. 2 mm across; calyx 5–lobed, 4—5.2 mm long increasing some in fruit, with awnlike tips; tube narrowly funnel–shaped, 2.5—2.8 mm long, 1.5—1.8 mm wide at orifice, 10–veined, rounded at base, densely pubescent with stalked glandular hairs; lobes ± equal, acuminate–triangular aging with purplish, needlelike tip 0.5—0.8 mm long, margins sometimes purple–red, inner surface glabrous, calyx fine–veined on inner surface; corolla 2–lipped and bilateral, 4–lobed, 4—7 mm long, white to lavender; tube cylindric to throat slightly funnel–shaped, 0.8 mm wide at base and enlarged around ovary, on outside short–hairy on upper side with backward–pointing hairs; upper lip 1–lobed, 0.8—0.9 × 0.8—0.9 mm, rounded at tip or minutely notched, especially short–hairy on outer (lower) surface; lower lip 3–lobed, 1—2.5 mm long, 1.3—1.5 mm wide at base, center lobe obovate, with smaller, spreading lateral lobes at base; stamens 4 in 2 pairs, attached 1.5 mm from base of corolla at same level, filaments ca. 0.7 mm long, white; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, positioned below level of stigma on upper side of flower, 0.25—0.3 mm long, ± purple; pollen whitish; pistil 1, ca. 3.2 mm long; ovary deeply 4–lobed, lobes 0.3—0.35 mm, pale green, glabrous; style arising in center from base of ovary (gynobasic), white, with 2 spreading stigmatic branches, the branches exserted above corolla but not to level of purple points of the calyx, wedge–shaped, ca. 0.45 mm long, wet.
Fruit nutlets 4, ovoid and 3–sided, 1.2 × 1 mm, glossy dark brown, with rounded back and to 2 flat faces, back minutely bumpy (tuberculate).
A. C. Gibson