Ballota nigra L.

Black horehound (en), Ballote vulgaire (fr), Ballote noire (fr), Marrube noir (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Lamiaceae > Ballota

Characteristics

Perennial herb, with hairy stems to c. 1 m tall. Petioles 1-3 cm long. Lamina of upper cauline lvs 2.5-5 × 2-3 cm, ovate or ovate-oblong, densely hairy on both sides, strongly crenate; base subcordate; apex acute. Verticels dense; bracts cuneate, serrate or crenate-serrate. Bracteoles < calyx, ± filiform. Calyx 6-9 mm long, with nerves densely hairy; teeth ovate, acuminate. Corolla 12-15 mm long, pinkish to purple or white, almost glabrous outside; middle lobe ovate and slightly reflexed. Filaments hairy at base. Nutlets not seen.
More
Fibrous-rooted perennial herb 3–8 dm; main lvs short-petioled, ovate or round-ovate, 3–6 cm, coarsely crenate, the bracteal ones smaller and narrower; cymes 4–8-fld, 1–2 cm; peduncles 2–5 mm; fls subtended by setaceous bracts; cal 10-nerved, the tube 7–10 mm, the lobes nearly equal; cor 10–15 mm, pink to white, the upper lip entire, two-thirds as long as the tube, the lower median lobe transversely oblong, emarginate; 2n=22. Native of the Mediterranean region, intr. in waste places in our range. June–Sept.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread barochory
Mature width (meter) 0.63 - 0.88
Mature height (meter) 0.7 - 0.9
Root system fibrous-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Waste ground, hedgerows, woods and shady places, preferring nitrogen-rich, moist, rather loose soil.
Light 5-9
Soil humidity 3-5
Soil texture 2-6
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-9

Usage

Uses invertebrate food medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use Condyloma (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Detersive (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Emmenagogue (unspecified), Hysteria (unspecified), Nervine (unspecified), Resolvent (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified), Uterotonic (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Tincture (unspecified), Adulterant (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by divisions or seedlings.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -23
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Ballota nigra habit picture by Philippe Bissières (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra habit picture by 🐞Hélène🐦 (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra habit picture by Patrice Bracquart (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Ballota nigra leaf picture by ferr ale (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra leaf picture by borras rafael (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra leaf picture by olivier (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Ballota nigra flower picture by Barry Cornelius (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra flower picture by Jürgen Dreßler (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra flower picture by Jan Uhmann (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Ballota nigra fruit picture by Jorge (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra fruit picture by Rohweder Karsten (cc-by-sa)
Ballota nigra fruit picture by Manuel Barón (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Ballota nigra world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Algeria, Spain, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Morocco, New Zealand, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tunisia, Ukraine, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:444976-1
WFO ID wfo-0000315321
COL ID KHNL
BDTFX ID 9097
INPN ID 85502
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Stachys ballota Ballota foetida Ballota sordida Ballota urticifolia Marrubium nigrum Ballota nigra var. meridionalis Ballota nigra var. subvillosa Ballota nigra subsp. meridionalis Ballota nigra var. foetida Ballota foetida var. glabrescens Ballota sepium Ballota nigra var. submitis Ballota nigra

Lower taxons

Ballota nigra subsp. foetida Ballota nigra subsp. nigra Ballota nigra subsp. ruderalis Ballota nigra subsp. sericea Ballota nigra subsp. velutina Ballota nigra subsp. anomala