Agastache scrophulariifolia

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Purple giant hyssop
Agastache scrophulariifolia.jpg
Agastache scrophulariifolia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Agastache
Species:
A. scrophulariifolia
Binomial name
Agastache scrophulariifolia

Agastache scrophulariifolia, also known as the purple giant hyssop, [lower-alpha 1] is a perennial plant that grows throughout the US and northern Ontario, Canada. Its name comes from the similarity of its leaves to plants of the genus Scrophularia . [3] It is a beneficial plant to pollinators and is noted for its medicinal properties, as many plants in the mint family are. It tends to grow in disturbed or open areas where it does not have to interact with non-native competitive plants.

Contents

Description

Individuals of this species are perennial herbs that can grow up to six feet tall. They are late-flowering species in the mint family. Agastache scrophulariifolia tends to have several spiked inflorescence. Flowers of Agastache scrophulariifolia do not all bloom simultaneously and range from lavender to pink in color. The dark brown fruit they produce is a nutlet. [4]

Distribution

Agastache scrophulariifolia was once distributed throughout CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, and ON, Canada. However, its range is now severely reduced in many areas and in some cases extirpated completely. These declines are largely due to habitat loss, predation by deer, and competition for resources with non-native plants. [5]

Conservation status in the United States

It is listed as endangered in Connecticut [6] and Massachusetts, as threatened in Maryland and Vermont, and as a special concern in Kentucky and Tennessee. [7]

Habitat and ecology

Agastache scrophulariifolia tends to grow in riparian habitats, disturbed open areas, and meadows. The previously mentioned areas are ideal for Agastache scrophulariifolia because competition with other plants is reduced. As riparian habitats are altered or farmlands return to forest communities, Agastache scrophulariifolia suffers from habitat loss. It is a perennial plant that grows well in sandy loamy soils and requires sunlight for its seeds to germinate. [5]

Usage

Many people use this plant for its aromatic effects. Its leaves are edible. [8] In many cases, herbal and landscape plants identified as A. scrophulariifolia are actually A. foeniculum [9] and A. rugosa . [2]

Medicinal

The Meskwaki use an infusion of the root as a diuretic, and also use a compound of the plant heads medicinally. [10]

Notes

  1. "Purple giant hyssop" also sometimes refers to A. rugosa , [1] which itself is sometimes mistakenly referred to as A. scrophulariifolia. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hyssopus</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants in the mint and sage family Lamiaceae

Hyssopus (hyssop) is a genus of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to central Asia as far east as Mongolia. They are aromatic, with erect branched stems up to 60 cm long covered with fine hairs at the tips. The leaves are narrow oblong, 2–5 cm long. The small blue flowers are borne on the upper part of the branches during summer. By far the best-known species is the herb hyssop, widely cultivated outside its native area in the Mediterranean.

<i>Stachys</i> Genus of plants in the sage family

Stachys is a genus of plants, one of the largest in the mint family Lamiaceae. Estimates of the number of species vary from about 300, to about 450. Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae and its type species is Stachys sylvatica. The precise extent of the genus and its relationship to other genera in the subfamily are poorly known.

<i>Agastache</i> Genus of flowering plants

Agastache is a genus of aromatic flowering herbaceous perennial plants in the family Lamiaceae. It contains 22 species, mainly native to North America, one species native to eastern Asia. The common names of the species are a variety of fairly ambiguous and confusing "hyssops" and "mints"; as a whole the genus is known as giant hyssops or hummingbird mints.

<i>Agastache rugosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache rugosa, also known as wrinkled giant hyssop, Korean mint, purple giant hyssop, Indian mint and Chinese patchouli is an aromatic herb in the mint family, native to East Asia.

<i>Trifolium wormskioldii</i> Species of legume

Trifolium wormskioldii is a species of clover native to the western half of North America. Its common names include cows clover, coast clover, sand clover, seaside clover, springbank clover, and Wormskjold's clover.

Agastache parvifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name small-leaf giant hyssop. It is endemic to far northern California, where it grows in woodlands. It is an uncommon species and is sometimes considered a local subspecies of Agastache urticifolia.

<i>Agastache urticifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache urticifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name nettleleaf giant hyssop or horse mint.

<i>Eupatorium fortunei</i> Species of flowering plant

Eupatorium fortunei is a plant species in the family Asteraceae native from Asia where it is rare in the wild but commonly cultivated. The white to reddish colored flowers and herbage smell like lavender when crushed. In China the plants are used to make fragrant oils.

<i>Agastache mexicana</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache mexicana is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Mexican giant hyssop. It is native to southern North America and can grow up to 100 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate or oval-lanceolate. The plant is perennial and self-fertile. Its young lemon scented leaves are used in herbal teas and the leaves are also often used in flavoring foods.

<i>Agastache foeniculum</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache foeniculum, commonly called anise hyssop, blue giant hyssop, Fragrant giant hyssop, or the lavender giant hyssop, is a species of perennial plant in the mint family, (Lamiaceae). This plant is native to much of north-central and northern North America, notably the Great Plains and other prairies. It is tolerant of deer and drought, and also attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, bumblebees, honey bees, carpenter bees, and night flying moths.

<i>Thelesperma megapotamicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Thelesperma megapotamicum is a perennial species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name wild tea and rayless greenthread. It is native to sections of the Americas, including the central United States, where it grows in many types of habitat.

Agastache cusickii is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Cusick's giant hyssop. It is native to the northwestern United States from eastern Oregon and central Nevada to Idaho and Montana.

<i>Lespedeza capitata</i> Species of legume

Lespedeza capitata is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, or legume family, and is known by the common name roundhead bushclover, or roundhead lespedeza. It is native to eastern North America, including eastern Canada and the eastern half of the United States.

<i>Symphyotrichum prenanthoides</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America

Symphyotrichum prenanthoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name crookedstem aster. It is native to northcentral and northeastern North America.

<i>Agastache pallidiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache pallidiflora, commonly known as New Mexico giant hyssop or Bill Williams Mountain giant hyssop, is a plant in the mint family.

<i>Lycopus virginicus</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycopus virginicus is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by many common names, including Virginia water horehound, American water hoarhound, sweet bugleweed, water bugle, carpenter's herb, green archangel, purple archangel, wolf foot, and Egyptian's herb. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in eastern Canada and the eastern United States.

<i>Clinopodium vulgare</i> Species of flowering plant

Clinopodium vulgare, the wild basil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae.

Purple giant hyssop is a common name for several plants and may refer to:

<i>Agastache nepetoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Agastache nepetoides, commonly known as yellow giant hyssop, is a perennial flowering plant native to the central and eastern United States and Canada. It is a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family.

Agastache occidentalis is a species of Agastache first described by Charles Vancouver Piper, and given its current name by Amos Arthur Heller. It is commonly known as western giant hyssop and giant horsemint.

References

  1. Diana Stoll. "Agastache: An Herb for the Perennial Border." Llewellyn's 2019 Herbal Almanac: A Practical Guide to Growing, Cooking & Crafting. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. pna. ISBN   9780738756578
  2. 1 2 Roger Guillermo Fuentes-Granados. "Genetic Studies of Agastache." Iowa State University PhD dissertation. 1997. p. 14. doi : 10.31274/rtd-180813-13259
  3. Tucker, Arthur; Debaggio, Thomas. The Encyclopedia of Herbs. London: Timber Press.
  4. Corrigan 2002, p. 2.
  5. 1 2 Corrigan 2002, p. i.
  6. "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 3 February 2018.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  7. "Plants Profile for Agastache scrophulariifolia (purple giant hyssop)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  8. Midwest Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Burdock to Wild Peach By Lisa M. Rose
  9. Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio, The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance. Timber Press, 2009. p. 127. ISBN   9781604691344
  10. Smith, Huron H. 1928 Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians. Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 4:175-326 (p. 225)

Plants Profile for Agastache scrophulariifolia (Purple giant hyssop). Plants Profile for Agastache scrophulariifolia (Purple giant hyssop). Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=AGSC

PURPLE GIANT HYSSOP Agastache scrophulariifolia (Willd.) Kuntze. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_agsc.pdf