Stachys arvensis Field Woundwort

A square-stemmed, hairy annual with toothed, opposite leaves which grows in waste places, arable fields and as a weed in gardens and allotments, particularly on acidic soils. It is a Suboceanic-Southern temperate species with a local but widespread distribution in much of southern Britain. Like many other arable weeds it has declined greatly in the last 50 years. In West Glamorgan it is most common in Gower where it has been recorded frequently in arable field, but even there it has become more scarce in recent decades. It is far less common in Neath Port Talbot where it is found occasionally as a weed in allotments and on recently disturbed waste ground. The maintenance of long-lived seed banks in the soil is probably an essentail part of its survival strategy.

Archaeophyte