About: Betonica officinalis

Betonica officinalis (syn. Stachys officinalis), commonly known as common hedgenettle, betony, purple betony, wood betony, bishopwort, or bishop's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Pliny (25, 8, 46, § 84) calls the plant both betonica and vettonica, claiming that the Vettones used it as a herbal medicine. It is commonly known as Stachys officinalis, the word stachys coming from the Greek, meaning "an ear of grain," and refers to the fact that the inflorescence is often a spike.