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Ironwort

Sideritis

Also called Ironworts, Mountain Tea, Shepherd's Tea

Ironwort
Photo: Unknown author, GFDL

Sideritis is a genus of short, drought-tolerant subshrubs and herbs from Mediterranean mountains, grown in some regions for herbal tea. Its key to growing is sharp drainage, full sun and minimal watering, as it thrives in thin, rocky soil.

Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry fully between waterings.
Soil
Very well-drained, gritty or rocky mix with little organic matter.
Temperature
10–30 °C; tolerates cold, roughly down to -10 °C for hardy species.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts

About

Sideritis, also known as ironwort, mountain tea and shepherd's tea, is a genus of flowering plants known for their use as herbal medicine, commonly as a herbal tea. They are abundant in Mediterranean regions, the Balkans, the Iberian Peninsula and Macaronesia, but can also be found in Central Europe and temperate Asia.

Uses

In Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, and Turkey, Sideritis scardica, Sideritis clandestina, Sideritis syriaca, Sideritis perfoliata and various other species from the section Empedoclia are used as herbs either for the preparation of herbal teas, or for their aromatic properties in local cuisines. The herbal tea is commonly prepared by decoction, by boiling the stems, leaves and flowers in a pot of water, then often serving with honey and lemon.

Other Sideritis plants

Ironwort

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sideritis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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