Betony

The culprit is eutrophication

Betony flowers in the summer with purple-red, sometimes white, flowers and grows to about 50 cm high. The long stemmed leaves are arranged in a rosette. As with all labiates the stem is angular and hairy and the leaves of the stem are oppositely paired, each pair at a 90^o offset to its neighbouring pair. Betony has cauline leaves. In the summer carder bees come looking for its nectar. It is rarely seen in the wild, more often it is cultivated as an ornamental.

The name Stachys comes from the Greek and refers to the spike-shaped inflorescence whereas officinalis is used to identify those plants with a medicinal use. Betony was once dried and used as snuff or nose powder. It was also used as an arnica for wounds. It is now used as an ingredient in remedies for airway-, and bladder infections and diarrhoea.

Ecology and habitat

Betony grows on sunny, relatively damp, loamy or calcareous soils on grassy slopes and along woodland edges. It grows freely across Europe but in the Netherlands virtually restricted to Zuid-Limburg, locally naturalised such as in the dunes near Haarlem. In surrounding countries it occurs frequently on locations that are damp during winter months, interestingly here in the Netherlands betony grows in relatively dry areas.

Threat

Today Betonica officinalis is almost exclusively restricted to Zuid-Limburg and has undergone a dramatic decline. There is little left of the populations in Midden-Limburg and near Nijmegen. Over fertilisation is the problem pretty much everywhere, along with digging up of the land. The cessation of coppicing has also contributed to it being placed on the Red List. In Zuid-Limburg betony occurs only on a couple of hills. In the Belgian Voerstreek, where fertilisers are probably used less, betony can often be seen in grassland and along the hollow roads.