Authors: C. Stace, R. van der Meijden (ed.) & I. de Kort (ed.)
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Scientific name:

Ballota nigra

Vernacular name:

Horehound, Black


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Black Horehound

Scientific name: Ballota nigra L.

Diagnostic features
Erect perennial to 1m, with unpleasant smell when bruised.
Leaves petiolate, ovate, subcordate to broadly cuneate at base.
Corolla 9-15mm.

Chromosome number: 2n=22.

Habitat
Native; hedgerows, waysides, rough ground.

Distribution
Common in most of England, Wales and Channel Islands, introduced and very local in Scotland and Ireland.

This species is keyed out on Page 3172: Ballota & Stachys inthe Text Key.

Note
Our plant is Ballota nigra L. subsp. meridionalis (Bég.) Bég. (Synonym: Ballota nigra subsp. foetida (Vis.) Hayek); reports of Ballota nigra L. subsp. nigra, with narrower and longer calyx-teeth, are all or nearly all errors.

Ballota nigra (Horehound, Black)
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Horehound, Black
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