Rain as Deodorant. Stachys sylvatica, Hedge Woundwort, Mookerheide, The Netherlands
So in the rain I walked on the Mookerheide yesterday, place of an important battle in 1574 against the Spanish by the army of the Prince of Orange. Much blood was shed, among which that of two of the Prince's brothers. So 'Woundwort' would seem to be an appropriate plant for the wooded edge of the moor.
Great Carolus Linnaeus gives (1753) the rather boring Latin name, Stachys sylvatica, to our plant but he refers to the older name that Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) used: Galeopsis legitima. Perhaps a good name, too, because most descriptions of this plant refer to its musky odor; 'Galeopsis' goes back on the Greek for polecat and thus also its stink.
But I didn't smell anything noxious when I crushed some foliage. Possibly because the rain masked any smell...
Rain as Deodorant. Stachys sylvatica, Hedge Woundwort, Mookerheide, The Netherlands
So in the rain I walked on the Mookerheide yesterday, place of an important battle in 1574 against the Spanish by the army of the Prince of Orange. Much blood was shed, among which that of two of the Prince's brothers. So 'Woundwort' would seem to be an appropriate plant for the wooded edge of the moor.
Great Carolus Linnaeus gives (1753) the rather boring Latin name, Stachys sylvatica, to our plant but he refers to the older name that Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) used: Galeopsis legitima. Perhaps a good name, too, because most descriptions of this plant refer to its musky odor; 'Galeopsis' goes back on the Greek for polecat and thus also its stink.
But I didn't smell anything noxious when I crushed some foliage. Possibly because the rain masked any smell...