Stachys is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family, also known as betony or "rabbit ears". The plant reaches a height of 30 to 250 cm and has oval-elongated leaves with a soft pubescence, giving it a silvery hue. Flowers are collected in loose terminal inflorescences, colored white, creamy, pink, purple, or lilac, and bloom from June to August.
The key value of stachys is its tubers, which resemble spiral shells. They contain up to 3 % protein, less than 0.2 % fat, about 0.7 % fiber, and are rich in trace elements – selenium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese. The tubers consist of almost 80 % water and contain the tetrasaccharide stachyose, which does not raise blood sugar levels and promotes improved metabolism.
Stachys is easy to grow: the plant prefers light, fertile soils with good air- and moisture permeability, but can grow on various types of soil except excessively acidic and swampy ones. The optimum temperature for growth is around +15 °C, with a growing period of 130–150 days. Tubers are planted in April–May or September, at a depth of 5–8 cm, with a distance between bushes of 0.2–0.3 m and between rows of 0.4–0.5 m. Yield reaches up to 1.5 kg from one bush.
Stachys tubers can be prepared in various ways: boiled, fried, marinated, as puree or sauces. They are widely used in baby food, dietetic food, and therapeutic nutrition, and are also used for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, hypertension, and diabetes due to their calming properties and ability to lower blood sugar by 40–60 %.
