Acanthomintha

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Thornmint
Acanthominthailicifolia1.jpg
Acanthomintha ilicifolia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Mentheae
Genus: Acanthomintha
(Gray) Gray

Acanthomintha is a genus of the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus Acanthomintha is commonly referred to as thornmint or thorn-mint. There are four species within this genus, including the endangered species Acanthomintha duttonii . All four thornmints are native to the California Floristic Province. The origin of the genus name is from the identical Greek word meaning thornmint.

Contents

The four known species of Acanthomintha are: [1]

Genus morphology

All thornmints are aromatic annual wildflowers with erect stems and petioled leaves. Inflorescences of thornmints are head-like, in clusters and terminal in form. In the genus Acanthomintha leaf veins are conspicuous and the leaf margins are always spiny, leading to the common name. The characteristics of the genus flower are with a two-lipped calyx and lobes spine-tipped, re-inforcing the basis of the common name. All Acanthomintha have the upper three lobes of its calyx acuminate and the lower two lobes oblong in shape. Acanthomintha corollae are funnel shaped, always white, but sometimes with a tinging of rose or lavender color. The corolla throat is cream colored and its upper lip is hooded, while the longer lower lip is reflexed and three-lobed. All Acanthomintha have four stamens, with the upper two reduced, whether they are sterile or not. Thornmint styles are slender and their fruit is ovoid in shape with smooth exterior texture.

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<i>Acanthomintha duttonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Acanthomintha duttonii is a species of annual plant endemic to San Mateo County, California in the family Lamiaceae. It is commonly called San Mateo thornmint and is found growing on serpentine soils near the Crystal Springs Reservoir in a six-mile (10 km) long strip on the east side of Montara Mountain at elevations of approximately 150 to 300 meters.

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<i>Acanthomintha ilicifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Acanthomintha lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Acanthomintha lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Santa Clara thornmint. It is endemic to California, where it is known from several counties surrounding and south of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is an uncommon resident of rocky habitat in coastal and inland mountain ranges.

<i>Acanthomintha obovata</i> Species of flowering plant

Acanthomintha obovata is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name San Benito thornmint. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the woodland and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges in the central part of the state.

<i>Galeopsis bifida</i> Species of plant

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<i>Scutellaria antirrhinoides</i>

Scutellaria antirrhinoides is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names nose skullcap and snapdragon skullcap. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in forests, woodlands, and open, rocky habitat types. It is a perennial herb producing an erect stem or cluster of stems up to 35 centimeters tall from a system of thin rhizomes. The stems are coated in short hairs which are curled or angled upward and sometimes have resin glands. The oval leaves are coated in tiny hairs and are oppositely arranged. The lowest leaves are borne on short petioles. Flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower is held in a calyx of sepals with a large ridge or appendage on the upper part. The corolla is up to 2 centimeters long, tubular in shape with a large upper and lower lip. The upper lip is folded into a beaklike protrusion and the lower has three flat lobes. The corolla is purple to blue with an area of white mottling on the lower lip.

Scutellaria bolanderi is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Sierra skullcap. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the Sierra Nevada and several of the mountain ranges to the south. It is a perennial herb producing an erect stem or cluster of stems 30 centimeters to one meter tall from a system of thin rhizomes. The stems are coated in short, spreading hairs which sometimes have resin glands. The oval or heart-shaped leaves have wavy edges and are oppositely arranged. The lowest leaves are borne on short petioles. Flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower is held in a calyx of sepals with a large ridge or appendage on the upper part. The corolla is between 1 and 2 centimeters long and tubular in shape with a large upper and lower lip. The upper lip is folded into a beaklike protrusion and the lower has three wide lobes. The corolla is white or very pale blue with an area of blue mottling on the lower lip.

Scutellaria siphocampyloides is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name grayleaf skullcap. It is endemic to California, where it is widespread throughout the mountain and coastal regions; it is absent from the deserts and the Central Valley. It can be found in forest and woodland habitat, and a variety of open habitat types. It is a perennial herb producing an erect stem or cluster of stems up to about half a meter tall from a system of thin rhizomes. The stems are coated in short, flattened hairs which sometimes have resin glands. The oval leaves are oppositely arranged. The lowest leaves are borne on short petioles. Flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower is held in a calyx of sepals with a large ridge or appendage on the upper part. The tubular corolla can be up to 3.5 centimeters long and has a large upper and lower lip. The upper lip is folded into a beaklike protrusion and the lower has three wide lobes. The corolla is pale lavender to deep purple in color, sometimes with white mottling on the lower lip.

<i>Scutellaria tuberosa</i>

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Trichostema austromontanum is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name San Jacinto bluecurls. It is native to California from the mountains east of the Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges, its distribution extending south into Baja California. It occurs in wet mountain meadows and on the shores of lakes. It is an annual herb approaching half a meter in maximum height, its aromatic herbage coated in glandular and nonglandular hairs. The elongated or lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a series of clusters of flowers located at each leaf pair. Each flower has a hairy calyx of pointed sepals and a tubular, lipped purple corolla. The four stamens are long and curved.

<i>Scutellaria mexicana</i>

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