About

Teucrium Martin is a perennial member of the germander genus Teucrium, notable for its white to cream summer flowers produced from June to September. Stems are four-angled and bear leaves in opposite pairs, while the blooms are carried in branching thyrses. The corolla is two-lipped with a reduced upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip, and four stamens arise near the petal base.

About the genus

Teucrium is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, commonly known as germanders. Plants in this genus are perennial herbs or shrubs, with branches that are more or less square in cross-section, leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and flowers arranged in thyrses, the corolla with mostly white to cream-coloured, lobed petals.

Wikipedia contributors, "Teucrium", CC BY-SA 4.0 — Teucrium

In the garden

Teucrium Martin belongs to the Teucrium genus (the germanders) in the mint family, a group characterised by perennial herb or shrub forms with four-cornered stems and opposite foliage. Members of the genus display flowers in thyrses and a corolla that is white to cream-coloured with five lobes forming two lips; in Teucrium Martin those floral traits are visible through the main UK flowering season of June to September. Observation of stem and flower structure helps with identification: look for the square stems, sessile glands or simple hairs on branches, and the two-lipped flowers with a larger central lower lobe. The four stamens attached at the base of the petals and the arrangement of blooms in compound clusters are typical diagnostic features. Garden use should reflect its status as a perennial herb or shrub: its summer display of white to cream corollas provides a sustained run of bloom through June to September, and the architectural habit of four-angled stems and paired leaves gives winter profile once flowering finishes. Expect the floral form—thyrses of two-lipped blooms and the four-part staminal arrangement—to be the species' defining points in a mixed planting.

More in the Teucrium genus

• 
  Teucrium LucidrysGermander
• 
  Teucrium fruticans 'Agadir'Tree Germander
• 
  Teucrium hyrcanicumGermander
• 
  Teucrium poliumcat thyme
• 
  Teucrium x lucidrys
• Teucrium Ackermannii HortGermander
• Teucrium hir. 'Paradise Delight'Germander