Hairy ironwort
Sideritis hirsuta
Family · Lamiaceae · Harmless
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The grey hairy mint-family plant of limestone, with white or yellowish flowers in whorls along an upright spike. It is the base of one of the most drunk mountain infusions in Spain.
Uplands · Scrubland · Fields and pasture
Also known ashairy sideritis, mountain tea
How to tell it
A plant covered in long white hairs, giving it a woolly look and its name. A four-angled stem, as in the whole family. Flowers in separated whorls along the spike, with broad spiny bracts beneath each whorl, white or pale yellow with a short upper lip.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
A traditional infusion across the eastern half of Spain, taken for stomach ache and colds, and sold at fairs under the name rabo de gato. Traditional use, in the past, and a plant that is over-gathered: in several Spanish ranges it is declining because of it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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