Wall germander
Teucrium chamaedrys
Family · Lamiaceae · Irritating
The low mint with small leaves cut like a miniature oak's, which is exactly where its name comes from in every language. It grows on walls and limestone banks and flowers pink into September.
Walls and rocks · Scrubland · Uplands · Roadsides and waste ground
Also known asgermander
How to tell it
Small leaves, glossy above, with a margin cut into round lobes, just like miniature oak leaves. Purplish pink flowers with no upper lip, which is the genus mark. A four-angled stem, creeping at the base.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
A bitter plant with a long tradition in European liqueurs and infusions. A note that stays on the sheet: prolonged use in capsules has been linked to liver injury and is restricted in several countries. Not a plant for sustained consumption.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.