Plant: perennial herb; rhizomatous, green; hairs sparse, spreading; stems to 1 m, sometimes taller

Leaves: 1.5-6 cm long; petiole long, often broad or winged; blade triangular-ovate; margin coarsely serrate or crenate; base cordate, attenuate at petiole or truncate

INFLORESCENCE: with petiolate bracts, the lowest leafy, the uppermost shorter than the sepals

Flowers: calyx nearly actinomorphic, 7-12 mm long; corolla scarlet-red to orange-red, 2-3 cm long, the tube long-exserted

Fruit: NUTLETS 2 mm long and wide, bumpy

Misc: Moist areas from Sonoran Desert scrub to ponderosa pine; 450-2450 m (1500-8000 ft); Jan-Nov

REFERENCES: Christy, Charlotte M. 2003. Lamiaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 35(2).

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Perennial herb, rhizomatous, with sparse spreading hairs, stems to 1 m or taller.

Leaves: Opposite, blades 1.5-6 cm long, triangular-ovate, margin coarsely serrate or crenate, base cordate, attenuate at petiole or truncate; petiole long, often broad or winged.

Flowers: Sessile or subsessile, bearing petiolate bracts, lowest leafy, upper most shorter than sepals; calyx nearly actinomorphic, 7-12 mm long; corolla scarlet-red to orange-red, 2-3 cm long, tube long-exserted.

Fruits: Deeply lobed, nutlets 2 mm long and wide, bumpy.

Ecology: Found in moist areas from 1,500-8,000 ft (457-2438 m); flowers January-November.

Notes: The scarlet flowers, paired along upper part of the stems, along with the nettle-like leaves are distinctive; often found in or along washes.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have uses.

Etymology: Stachys is from the Greek stachus for ear of grain or spike, while coccinea means scarlet colored.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley, 2010