Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae] |
status
flower
inner
morph
petals
type
stem
rarity
(ssp. verbenaca)
ssp. horminoides |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
This specimen is branched and has stems which are more round than square, but nevertheless, the inflorescences are covered in glandular hairs. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The basal leaves are dull-green (as are the rest of the leaves), and on flat stalks. |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Flowers in whorls up the stem, in whorls of 5 or 6, not 4 despite the square stem. |
10th June 2015, fields, South Wales. | Photo: © Fred Fee |
The plant is up to 80cm high, can be branched and grows in grassland often in rather bare places. |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
The whorls may be rather close at first, but become more widely separated as it grows. The stem becomes thinner every time a whorl is passed because the stems seem to grow inside one another like an extending telescope. |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
The flowers are a deeper blue than Whorled Clary(Salvia verticillata and are not as big or showy either. There is a hooded upper lip and a lower lip with three lobes. Note the two white marks on the lower lip, which means this specimen from Knowsley is of ssp. horminoides. |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Empty sepal tubes are paler, a rather steely blue/green. Sepals Plant is covered in short white glandular hairs. |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
Sepal tubes are ridged and have a definite upper and lower half. |
10th June 2015, fields, South Wales. | Photo: © Fred Fee |
Stem leaves. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
The opened flowers are between 10 and 17mm long but the closed (Cleistogamous) flowers are smaller at 6 to 12mm. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Wild Clary differs from Meadow Claryin that the longest hairs on the calyx are white and without glands at the tip (whereas they are brownish and with glands on Meadow Clary) [It is the short hairs which are glandular]. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Wild Clary also differs from Meadow Claryin that the flower corolla has no or very few glandular hairs (whereas there are many on Meadow Clary). |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Long white hairs are without glands at their tips whereas the shorter white hairs do have glands (but which are not sticky as they are in Sticky Clary. Your Author thinks the two brown elongated objects in the top petal are anthers. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
27th June, 2015, Knowsley Safari Park, Merseyside. | Photo: © RWD |
The identifying feature to distinguish Wild Clary from Whorled Claryor Meadow Claryare the stem leaves, which are rounded and somewhat irregular toothed. Leaves in pairs. |
15th Aug 2016, Llandudno promenade, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
Wild Clary also differs from Meadow Claryin that the lower leaves are distinctly lobed (whereas they are strongly and doubly serrate on Meadow Clary). |
ssp. verbenacaSorry, no photos as yet |
Can be mis-identified as : Wild Clary comes as two sub-species:
Hybridises with:
|
Salvia | verbenaca | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Lamiaceae |
Salvia (Claries) |
Mint / Dead-Nettle Family [Lamiaceae] |