There was a great deal of this plant in the last stages of flowering at this site and to me it was obviously a Ballota but took a while to find which one. The surprise was to find that this species was very early flowering compared with our native UK Ballota nigra which is a mid to late summer plant.

Grounds of Alora Castle, Andalucia, Spain 29th March 2008

Added on 13th March 2009, updated 3rd March 2010