Stachys aethiopica spaced flower whorls

This slender Stachys aethiopica inflorescence with exaggerated internodes between flower whorls has a hairy, dark purple stem. Some hairs on the plant are glandular. The pointy calyces lacking pedicels are also purple.

S. aethiopica flowers often have green calyces. Plectranthus flowers mostly have pedicels, Stachys flowers don’t. The two-lipped corollas of the two genera resemble each other. The bracts below the flowers are quite small here.

This form of the plant resembles S. nigricans.

The photo was taken near the Sani Pass (Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist).