Dig into Plants: Lamb's Ear


Lamb's Ear

Other Common Names: Wooly Hedgenettle

Scientific Name: Stachys byzantina 

Native to Alabama: No, non-native


 
Monarch Butterfly
Wikimedia
Magnus Manske

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Learn more about...
 
Basic Information
Classification Button
Maintenance
Adaptations Button
Plant ID
Life Cycle


 


 
Basic Plant Information
 
  • I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
  • I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen.
  • I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
  • I can grow 0.75 - 1.5 feet high and 1 - 1.5 feet wide.
Wikimedia
Plenuska

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Ecological Benefits
 
This plant provides food for:
Butterflies Other Pollinators
   
  
 

   
Maintenance Notes
  • Dormant in winter.
  • Pick off damaged leaves as needed if mid-summer foliage decline occurs.
  • When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots.
  • Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
  • Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.
 
 

  
Habitat Requirements
 
This plant prefers:
Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)
   Average Watering
Well-drained Soil
 
 

 

   

  
Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
 
LEAF DESCRIPTION
Wikimedia
Frank Vincentz

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Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)
       
Shape:
Lanceolate
Margin:
Crenate
Arrangement:
Opposite
Form:
Simple
   
Description:
3-6 inches in length and width, thick, soft, hairy/velvety, gray-green leaves which typically form a rapidly spreading mat approximately 4-6 inches off the ground, flattened at the apex (tip), and underside may be purple

   
 
 
 
FLOWER DESCRIPTION
Wikimedia
Stan Shebs
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Flower Shape Chart (JPG)
       
Color:
Pink, purple, lavender
Shape:
Labiate
Bloom Months:
May - Jul
       
Description:
Less than 1 inch, growing upright from the center of the leaves, sessile (without a stalk), tiny, purplish-pink flowers rising above the foliage to 10-15 inches
         
 
SEED DESCRIPTION
 
Type:
Fruit - Nut
Description:
Brown/copper-colored dry fruit that does not split open when ripe  
Months in Seed:
Fall
 
Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/ Tubers/ Roots & Shoots
Self-seeder; also spreads by creeping stems that root as they go along the ground; can be mildly aggressive in rich soils
    

 


 
Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:
  • All plants start life as a seed.
  • The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
  • The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
  • After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
 
General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime
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Plant Life Cycle continues:
  • After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
  • When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
  • Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.
  Wikimedia
Quartl
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS
 
Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)
Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF
Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc
QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)



  

 
INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Logo
 
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Logo
Missouri Botanical Gardens Logo 2019
 
   

 
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