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Alpine Betony

Betonica officinalis (bet-ON-ih-kuh oh-fish-ih-NAIL-iss oh-fish-ih-NAIL-iss)

Family: Lamiaceae Non-native Herbaceous (1-3 ft)

Creeping betony is a flowering rhizomatous perennial in the mint family found in dry grassland and open woods in most of Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. The Latin epithet, officialis , refers to plants which have a culinary or medicinal use. In nature, creeping betony is a patch-forming, grassland perennial, 12 to 24 inches tall. Prefers full sun to partial shade in well-drained soils. Its leaves are stalked on upright stems, oval with a heart-shaped base, wrinkled texture and toothed margins. The plant flowers in midsummer and iith a dense growth habit and showy spikes of pink flowers in the spring and summer. Use this plant in meadows, cottage gardens, and rock gardens. Flowers attract pollinators. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant diseases or insect pests.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 41 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Carex albula Carex dolichostachya x Heucherella

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Perennial
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6b, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Prostrate
Texture
Coarse
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf margin
Crenate
Leaf feel
Leathery
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Deep green leathery leaves. Petioles of stem leaves 1 1/2 to 3 inches long; basal leaf blade broadly ovate, 3 inches long by 2 inches wide, margin crenate; stem leaf blade ovate, widely spaced. Basal floral leaves sessile, oblong-lanceolate; upper floral leaves linear, margin entire.
Flower color
Pink; Purple/Lavender
Flower form
Spike
Flower shape
Tubular
Flower detail
Spikes tubular bright pink/lavender flowers. Flowers subsessile. Corolla purple.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Stem detail
Stems 19 to 30 inches, striate, densely fine pilose.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe to Western Siberia and Caucasus
Distribution
Massachusetts and New York
Food & Medicine

Uses (ethnobotany)

In ancient times, it was thought to protect from sorcery and ghosts. Also use medicinally.

Landscape Use
Garden tags
#rock garden #interesting leaves #drought tolerant #deer resistant #rhizomatous #perennial #flowering
Problems & Resistance
Propagation
Division

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.