Marrubium

Perennials and annuals, often hairy, small flowers in whorls, white, pink-purple or creamy-yellow. Enjoying open sunny locations and well-drained soils. Similar to Ballota, but in Marrubium the calyx is small, whereas in Ballota it can be enlarged.

Some of the most important flowering sub-shrubs in midsummer, especially attractive to bumblebees and honeybees. This is one of the genera used in nest-building by the attractive wool carder-bee: female bees bite the hairs off the leaves, roll them into a ball and take them to a nest-hole where they are fashioned into a breeding cell. In contrast, males spend their time defending suitable plants against all-comers in an attempt to persuade the females that 'their' hairy leaves are the best!