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In the Mediterranean area and its surrounding floristic regions (Macaronesian, Circumborcal, Irano-Turanian, and Saharo-Arabian) the genus Teucrium L. (Labiatae) has around 242 taxa grouped in 9 sections according to Bentham (1832-1836) with the additions made by Boissicr (1879). Section Teucriopsis Benth. is endemic to the Canary and Madeira Islands. Section Teucrium comprises 28 perennial herbs and shrubs. Section Stachyobotrys (Benth.) Kastner is a section with 7 rare taxa, one of them endemic to Morocco and two to Turkey. Section Scorodonia (Hill) Schreb., includes 18 half-shrubs from open forests, 16 of them endemic to the western Mediterranean; the only one in the genus which shows a clear bilabiate calyx (excluding T. abutiloide L'Her. and T. betonicum L’Hér. from sect, Teucriopsis). Section Spinularia (Boiss.) Kistner comprises the only winter-deciduous 7 herbs of the genus. Section Isotriodon with 16 small half-shrubs is found only in crevices and cliffs and seems to_be of recent origin. Section Chamaedrys (Mill.) Schreb., is represented in all Mediterrancan lands, with 35 taxa they are mainly half-shrubs endemic to Turkey, Greece and SE Spain and perennial herbs with thizomes. Section Polium (Mill.) Schreb.. is a variable section in the leaves, calyx and indu- mentum, arranged in 4 subsections: (1) Subsection Polium including 64 gynodioccious half- shrubs and scrubs. 70% of them distributed in Spain and Morocco; (2) Subsection Rotundifolia Berm. & Sanchez Crespo includes 43 small half shrubs, 65% of them endemic to Cyprus. Arabia and NE Africa; (3) Subsection Pumilum Rivas Mart., with 7 specics, found only in SE Spain; (4) Subsection Simplicipilosa S. Puech with 10 species occur in SE Spain, NE Africa and S Arabia. The East Mediterranean seems to be the centre of origin of the genus and the Western Mediterrancan the recent centre of speciation.