Common name:
Black horehound
Family:
Scientific name:
Ballota nigra
Main flower color:
Range:
England and Wales; commonest in the centre and southeast
Height:
Up to 80 cm
Habitat:
Fields, waste ground, verges
Flowers:
The corolla is pink to pale purple, hairy on the outside, with a hooded upper lip and a three lobed lower lip. Calyces are funnel-shaped, with five sharply-pointed, equal-sized lobes at the top, and ten ridged veins along the tube. Stamens have white filaments and brown anthers. Flowers form in whorls, at the upper leaf nodes
Leaves:
Opposite, hairy, stalked, up to 5 cm long, heart-shaped around the base becoming ovate further up the stem, lined with large teeth
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
