Flora of Israel | Stachys arvensis

Stachys arvensis, Glechoma arvensis, Annual hedge nettle, field hedge nettle, staggerweed,

Hebrew: אשבל השדה, Arabic: البطنج البري

Scientific name:   Stachys arvensis (L.) L.
Synonym name:   Glechoma arvensis L.
Common name:   Annual hedge nettle, field hedge nettle, staggerweed
Hebrew name:   אשבל השדה
Arabic name:   البطنج البري
Plant Family:   Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   To 25 cm high; at first erect but drooping with age with the tips bent upwards, weak, soft, branching; squared in cross-section; rough hairs
Leaves:   Opposite, entire, dentate or serrate, no stipule
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite, white, corolla white or pale pink
Fruits / pods:   Nutlets brown, ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:   Med – Euro-Siberian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Stachys, Greek, a spike, relating to a spike.

arvensis, arvum, field, cultivated land, plowed land; of cultvated fields.
Glechoma from the Greek γληχων glechon, an old name for mint or thyme.
The Hebrew name: אשבל, eshbol, a blend of אשכול, eshkol (=cluster), and שבולת, shibolet (=ear of corn).

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.