Stachys Species, Florida Betony, Rattlesnake Weed, Florida Hedgenettle, Lamb's Ear

Very invasive!! Do not plant this in the ground; you will regret it!!
I got some mixed in with a plant I bought & in spite of all...Read More my several years of attempting to manually eradicate it, I had not been successful. I rarely use herbicides but have about reached the point of no return with this pest. It has inner twined in my hydrangeas; virtually covered my heucheras; invaded a bed of iris, painted fern & helleborus & it continues to march on toward my daylily beds. It is NOT a nice plant.

I first found Florida Betony growing at a local park. I learned that the roots are edible, so I took a cutting and planted it under my ci...Read Moretrus trees. Months later, this one cutting turned into a mat of leaves and flowers that blanketed a patch of dirt devoid of grass. The tubers are tasty, but break easily, and require careful digging. Hoping that consuming the tubers will keep it in check.

I have to agree with Tefoe... and I am looking for a way to get hold of some tubers. I'm a little too far north for them to grow in my ya...Read Morerd, but I keep looking in vain. If anyone has any of these weeds, I'll GLADLY take some off your hands!
I'm serious- please contact me.

This spring, I found a large patch while visiting Jacksonville, FL. Tried some tubers, raw, and sauteed in butter. Taste a bit like radishes, without the heat. Will definitely be getting more, and eating more. Am growing them in a planter in Wilson's Mills, NC (zone 7b/ 8a depending on the source). Have tubers for trade!

Oh horrible invader... Tender stems snap off above the ever-living tubers, and with the rain it springs right up again... If it would giv...Read Moree some flowers we might make peace.

It's difficult to accept that Florida Betony (Stachys floridana) is in the same genus as Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) -- the first is ...Read Moredespised and the other prized in most gardens.

To be fair, the Florida Betony does make a pretty pink/purple flower stalk about 4 inches high and can be attractive when grown in thick clusters (which, as noted above, is very easy to do!). It might actually make a nice ornamental plant in a garden where it could be grown as an annual, and either kept in a pot, or left in the ground to be killed by freezing temperatures in winter so that it wouldn't spread.

Florida Betony can be controlled by a thick mulch of pine straw. Some of it will come up through the pine straw, but it will gradually weaken if the top green shoots are consistently pulled off. It can not be eliminated without digging out every portion of the (edible, like a wild radish, bumpy, small white carrot-like) tuber. It will regrow from any portion of the tuber and spread by underground rhizomes.

Jeremy

this is very invasive and very hard to eliminate. Has even grown thru my black landscape fabric.

Florida betony is incredibily invasive, spreading by rhizomes, tubers, and seeds. It grows thick as the hairs on a dog's back. Mow it a...Read Morend it looks like green grass in the winter.

The tuberous roots are edible and sometimes boiled like peanuts. Use as a food is well noted among southeast U.S. Indian tribes and settlers of Florida's early history, as well as today by many nature enthusiasts.

this is very invasive here ! one of our worst weeds