Wall germander
Teucrium chamaedrys
Botanical family: Lamiaceae
Teucrium chamaedrys, a small Lamiaceae of arid places, mostly on chalk, found in almost all of France. Traditionally reputed digestive, it is today reserved for ornament and pollinators (see caveat). Sources: Tela Botanica, “Teucrium chamaedrys L.” (Coste's flora); Plants For A Future, “Teucrium chamaedrys”.
Full sun, warm and sheltered
Well-drained, poor, chalky; rockeries and old walls
Very low, a plant of dry ground, drought-resistant
Hardy woody perennial
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A ground cover of dry, chalky ground (rockery, edging, low wall), it offers a very nectar-bearing purplish-pink flowering in late summer, at a season when flowers grow scarce, an asset for pollinators on poor, dry soil. Evergreen and frugal, it dresses ungrateful spots.
Companions
No companion planting is documented for this plant: no recommended neighbour, no neighbour to avoid.
Seasons & availability
An ornamental subshrub rich in nectar: pink flowers from July to September. Internal medicinal use is to be avoided, see the cautions.
Available: July, August, September.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- Plants For A Future, « Teucrium chamaedrys » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Teucrium+chamaedrys)
- Tela Botanica, « Teucrium chamaedrys L. » (tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-67333-description)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
INTERNAL USE TO BE BANNED: wall germander is hepatotoxic. Long believed harmless, it caused more than fifty cases of hepatitis, sometimes serious (one of them fatal), once marketed as a slimming aid: it was, on 12 May 1992, the FIRST withdrawal from the market of a medicinal plant in France. Its diterpenes are hepatotoxic after activation by the liver. To be grown for the bees and the rockery, never eaten or as an infusion. Sources: toxiplante.fr; French pharmacovigilance (1992 withdrawal).
Family behaviour: Lamiaceae
In general, Lamiaceae are aromatics (basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, lemon balm, savory). Their essential oils are reputed to bother some insects, but in a trial cited by Parker et al. (2013), sage, thyme and mint planted near cabbages did not reduce their pests. Their flowers are much visited by pollinators.
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Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun, warm and sheltered exposure.
- • Ideal soil: well-drained, poor, chalky; rockeries and old walls.