Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
χαμαίδρυς

Wall germander

Teucrium chamaedrys L. · Lamiaceae
Identification: DisputedNot endemic to GreeceConservation status not assessed
Risk rank
13 of 32 (8–13)
Risk score
0.30(0.30–0.30)2 · Moderate
Identification disputed. Scholars propose more than one modern species. We model the most cited candidate and show the alternative for comparison. Rankings are also reported without disputed plants on the Methods page. See how its rank changes under each alternative identification.
Modelled
Teucrium chamaedrys
Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 539-540 (Comm. III cap. CII): χαμαίδρυς named for the oak-like leaves; Tragus called it Teucrium chamaedrys, Brunfels Veronica chamaedrys (rejected by C. Gesner and Bauhin); 'accedente et Sibthorpio, subsistamus in Teucrio Chamaedry, in Graecia, ut per totam fere Europam, satis vulgari.' | Fraas 1845, p. 173 DISAGREES: χαμαίδρυς Diosc. 3,102 = Teucrium lucidum L. (Gamanderstrauch), because Dioscorides' 'in asperis et rupestribus' habitat is where T. chamaedrys never grows 'contra Sibthorp', 'Est fruticulus' cannot apply to herbaceous T. chamaedrys, and Theophrastus' 'fragrant and sweet' fits T. lucidum or T. flavum; notes the modern name χαμανδρυά is used for both. Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-112 CHAMAIDRUS: SUGGESTED Teucrium chamaedrys [Linnaeus]; also Teucrium botrys; Veronica teucrium / V. chamaedrys. Confidence changed to 'disputed' because Fraas names a competing candidate. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n541/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n218/mode/1up)
Alternative
Veronica chamaedrys L.
Brunfels, cited by Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 540 (called false/spurious by Gesner and Bauhin)
Alternative
Teucrium lucidum L.
Fraas 1845, p. 173
Alternative
Teucrium flavum L. (fits Theophrastus' description)
Fraas 1845, p. 173
Alternative
Teucrium botrys; Veronica chamaedrys
Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-112

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
χαμαίδρυς
Photograph of Teucrium chamaedrys
Photo: Konrad Lackerbeck · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of Wall germander)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book III · ch. 98c. 50–70 CE
χαμαίδρυς
chamaidrys
χαμαίρωψ ἢ χαμαίδρυς ἢ λινόδρυς· οἱ δὲ καὶ ταύτην Τεύκριον καλοῦσι διὰ τὸ σῴζειν ἐμφέρειαν ποσὴν πρὸς Τεύκριον· φύεται ἐν τραχέσι καὶ πετρώδεσι χωρίοις. …
Modern identification
Teucrium chamaedrysL. · LamiaceaeDisputed

Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 539-540; Fraas 1845, p. 173; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 539-540 (Comm. III cap. CII): χαμαίδρυς named for the oak-like leaves; Tragus called it Teucrium chamaedrys, Brunfels Veronica chamaedrys (rejected by C. Gesner and Bauhin); 'accedente et Sibthorpio, subsistamus in Teucrio Chamaedry, in Graecia, ut per totam fere Europam, satis vulgari.' Fraas 1845, p. 173 DISAGREES: χαμαίδρυς Diosc. 3,102 = Teucrium lucidum L. (Gamanderstrauch), because Dioscorides' 'in asperis et rupestribus' habitat is where T. chamaedrys never grows 'contra Sibthorp', 'Est fruticulus' cannot apply to herbaceous T. chamaedrys, and Theophrastus' 'fragrant and sweet' fits T. lucidum or T. flavum; notes the modern name χαμανδρυά is used for both. Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-112 CHAMAIDRUS: SUGGESTED Teucrium chamaedrys [Linnaeus]; also Teucrium botrys; Veronica teucrium / V. chamaedrys. Confidence changed to 'disputed' because Fraas names a competing candidate. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n541/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n218/mode/1up)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica, vol. II (Berlin 1906), p. 110; read off the archive.org page image (item b21459162_0002) and cross-checked against two OCR layers; ϑ printed as θ. See the page scan.

No European Medicines Agency herbal monograph for this species.

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)+14% (+9 to +15%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)+15% (+15 to +18%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate0 km² (0–0 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.30 (0.30–0.30)Moderate risk class 2
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.00 of max 0.40 · (0.00–0.00)
  • Endemism 0.00 of max 0.20 · not endemic
  • Conservation status 0.10 of max 0.20 · not assessed
  • Harvest pressure 0.20 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 50% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Standard grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.78 ± 0.01
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.76 ours is higher
Boyce index
0.89 ± 0.06
TSS
0.48 ± 0.02
Occurrence records
525 after cleaning (of 636)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.50. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Monitor

Stable or expanding; keep watching harvest and status. Resolve the identification first.

Rule: Gains or keeps habitat · no 2050 cultivation zone.

See the action plan

Identification through time

Who has matched χαμαίδρυς to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000
  • χαμαίδρυςDMM 3.98 · Wall germanderTeucrium chamaedrysDisputed

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Caveats

  • Identification is disputed; results describe Teucrium chamaedrys L., which may not be the plant Dioscorides meant.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now794—28.5%
2050 moderate891 (849–899)+14% (+9 to +15%)27% (26–27%)
2050 high899 (884–925)+15% (+15 to +18%)27% (26–27%)