Snakeweed

Family: Verbenaceae
Scientific name: Stachytarpheta australis
Description: Plant Form Subshrub. Size Up to 1.5 m tall. Stem Square in cross-section when young. Leaves Opposite, undivided, egg-shaped to oval, up to 9 cm long, notched to toothed edges, on 1.5 cm long stalks. With densely hairy underside. Flowers Usually whitish, tubular with five lobes, on long, thin, curved spikes above the mass of leaves. Fruit and Seeds Up to 6 mm long, dark brown to blackish, splitting into two one-seeded fragments. Habitat Forests, bushland, roadsides, disturbed areas, streams, gardens, plantations, pastures. Distinguishing Features Leaf undersides densely hairy, whereas Cayenne snakeweed (Stachytarpheta cayennensis) and Jamaica snakeweed (S. jamaicensis) are hairless or sparsely hairy on veins.