sideritis

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of gamopetalous plants of the order Labiatæ, tribe Stachydeæ, and sub-tribe Marrubieæ. It is characterized by flowers with a five-toothed tubular calyx within which the corolla-tube, stamens, and style are all included, a corolla with the upper lip flattish and the lower with a larger middle lobe, and four didynamous stamens, the anthers of the forward or longer pair usually only half-formed, those of the other pair of two diverging cells. There are about 45 species, natives of the Mediterranean region, abundant in western Asia and extending west to the Canaries. They are herbs or shrubs, usually densely woolly or velvety, with entire or toothed leaves, and small and generally yellowish flowers in axillary whorls or crowded into a dense spike. The species are known as ironwort; S. Canariensis and S. Syriaca (S. Cretica), the latter known as sage-leafed ironwort, are sometimes cultivated in gardens, and are remarkable for their woolly leaves.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. genus of woolly aromatic herbs or subshrubs or shrubs of Mediterranean region