a Eurasian plant, Stachys (or Betonica) officinalis, with a spike of reddish-purple flowers, formerly used in medicine and dyeing: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
2.
any of several related plants of the genus Stachys
3. wood betony
Word origin
C14: from Old French betoine, from Latin betonica, variant of vettonica, probably named after the Vettones, an ancient Iberian tribe