Perennial herbs with a pilose to vinous to lanate indumentum of simple or irregularly-rayed stellate hairs. Leaves undivided, petiolate, crenate-serrate. Verticillasters dense, many-flowered, distant, borne in axils of upper leaves. Bracts subulate, spinulose somewhat shorter than calyces. Flowers white or cream, sessile. Calyx not bilabiate, tubular, with 10 often ribbed veins, straight, scarcely expanding in fruit; teeth 5 to 10, equal or unequal in length, spreading in fruit with recurved to hooked tips; throat open in fruit, white-bearded or glabrous. Corolla small, bilabiate; tube straight, shortly exserted or included, glabrous within or annulate; upper lip straight, clearly bind or entire. Stamens 4, included in corolla, didynamous; thecae bilocular, divergent. Style with 2 unequal short lobes. Nutlets smooth, trigonous, apically obtuse.

A mainly European and SW Asiatic genus of about 30 species. With some affinities to Ballata L. - not recorded from our area - which has a short-toothed calyx limb.

Lower Taxa

• Marrubium anisodon C. Koch
• Marrubium marrubiastrum (Stephan) Hedge
• Marrubium vulgare L.

Related Synonym(s):

• Lagopsis marrusbiastrum (Stephan) Ikonn: Gal. = Marrubium marrubiastrum (Stephan) Hedge
• Marrubium alternidens Rech. f. = Marrubium anisodon C. Koch
• Marrubium lanatum Benth. = Marrubium marrubiastrum (Stephan) Hedge
• Marrubium vulgare var. oligodon Rech. f. = Marrubium anisodon C. Koch
• Marrubium vulgare* auctt. p.p. non L.; Benth. = Marrubium anisodon C. Koch
• Molucella marrubiastnum Stephan = Marrubium marrubiastrum (Stephan) Hedge