| Woodland germander | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Teucrium |
| Species: | T. scorodonia |
| Binomial name | |
| Teucrium scorodonia L. |
|
Teucrium scorodonia, common name the Wood Sage or Woodland germander, is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Teucrium of the Lamiaceae family. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens.
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Teucrium scorodonia reaches on average 30–60 centimetres (12–24 in) of height. It is a hairy shrub with erect and branched stems. The leaves are petiolate, irregularly toothed, triangular-ovate to oblong shaped, lightly wrinkled. The inflorescence is composed by one-sided (all flowers "look" at the same side) pale green or yellowish flowers bearing four stamens with reddish or violet filaments. These flowers grow in the axils of the upper leaves and are hermaphrodite, tomentose and bilabiate but lack an upper lip, as all Teucrium ones. The flowering period extends from June through August. These plants are mainly pollinated by Hymenoptera species.
Teucrium scorodonia is distributed in western, central and southern Europe, Tunisia, the Azores, the Madeira Islands and in the eastern Canada.
These plants prefer sandy soils in woodland and acid heaths, at an altitude of 0–1,500 metres (0–4,900 ft) above sea level.