# Ground-pine

*Ajuga chamaepitys*

Despite its pine-like appearance and resinous scent, the ground-pine is actually a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae).

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Lamiaceae › Ajuga
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry, calcareous grasslands, chalk downs, stony fields, and disturbed agricultural margins.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- **Range:** Europe, Mediterranean Basin, North Africa, Western Asia
- **Size:** 5 to 20 cm in height, spreading up to 30 cm wide
- **Lifespan:** 1-2 years (annual or biennial)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Intensification of agriculture, herbicide application, scrubbing over of open chalk grasslands, and loss of traditional ground-disturbing activities.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. Safe to approach and observe. This low-growing plant is non-toxic to touch and releases a pleasant, pine-like aroma when gently brushed. Do not ingest wild plants.

## About

Ajuga chamaepitys is a species of flowering plant of the family Lamiaceae. Popularly known as yellow bugle or ground-pine , the plant has many of the same characteristics and properties as Ajuga reptans . A. chamaepitys can be found in Europe, the Eastern part of the Mediterranean, and North Africa.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/03b436d6-a918-48b7-aa02-b4a611e3bf01
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/59259
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajuga chamaepitys
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/311914895/medium.jpeg (ÖkopatóPál, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.