| Blephilia hirsuta | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Blephilia |
| Species: | B. hirsuta |
| Binomial name | |
| Blephilia hirsuta | |
| Varieties | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
Blephilia hirsuta, commonly known as hairy wood-mint [1] or hairy pagoda plant, [3] is a species of herbaceous perennial in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to eastern North America.
Hairy wood mint is a perennial plant that is normally 30 to 120 cm (12 to 47 inches) tall. The central stem is covered with long white hairs and ends in several whorls of flowers. [4]
The flowers can be either light blue, pale purple or white with purple spots. Each flower is about 1 cm (1⁄2 inch) long with light green sepals, [5] two main 'lips', two visible stamens, and a style that is divided at its tip. The flowers appear in the summer for roughly a month and a half. [4]
Arranged oppositely along the stem, the leaves of hairy wood mint are long but thin, becoming wider near the base of the leaf. [4] They are pleasantly fragrant. [6] The petioles are 1 to 3 cm (1⁄2 to 1+1⁄4 inches) and are covered with little hairs. Out of all the plants in this genus, Blephilia hirsuta has the largest leaves. [5] The stems grow from a system of rhizomes with fibrous roots. [4]
The German-American botanist Frederick Pursh described the hairy wood mint as Monarda hirsuta in his 1814 work Flora americae septentrionalis, before George Bentham gave it its current binomial name. [7]
In Canada, hairy wood mint can be found in southern Quebec and Ontario. It is common throughout the eastern United States, including Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. [3] [8]
Hairy wood mint prefers rich moist soil in hardwood forests, along streams and rivers, in forest openings and thickets underlain by limestone, and is occasionally found near wetlands. [4] Hairy wood mint likes partial sun or light shade. Forests with infrequent, low-intensity disturbances (i.e., gap dynamics) are ideal. [4]
Hairy wood mint is not generally used as food by humans, but it is often planted in gardens for its beauty and pleasant aroma; when the leaves are crushed or damaged they give off a minty scent. It may, however, have some beneficial medicinal properties, given that a related species ( Blephilia ciliata ) has historically been used by the Cherokee as a poultice to treat headaches. [9]
Many different types of bees (e.g., honeybees, mason bees, and miner bees), flies (e.g., bee-flies and syrphids), and butterflies (e.g., skippers) pollinate the flowers of hairy wood mint. [4] Many of these pollinators pollinate the hairy wood mint because they get a nectar reward, although some are after the pollen itself. The foliage "probably isn't attractive to mammalian herbivores as a food source." [4]
Over most of its range Blephilia hirsuta is a secure species, but in Connecticut it is listed as a species of 'special concern', in Vermont it is 'threatened', and in Massachusetts hairy wood-mint is an endangered species. [3] Unfortunately, the exact needs for conservation management are not known. [10]
Glechoma hederacea is an aromatic, perennial, evergreen creeper of the mint family Lamiaceae. It is commonly known as ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, creeping charlie, alehoof, tunhoof, catsfoot, field balm, and run-away-robin. It is also sometimes known as creeping jenny, but that name more commonly refers to Lysimachia nummularia. It is used as a salad green in many countries. European settlers carried it around the world, and it has become a well-established introduced and naturalized plant in a wide variety of localities. It is also considered an aggressive invasive weed of woodlands and lawns in some parts of North America. In the absence of any biological control, research conducted by the USDA herbicides are relied upon particularly for woodland ecosystems. The plant's extensive root system makes it difficult to eradicate by hand-pulling.
Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.
Salvia lyrata, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Lamiaceae that is native to the United States, from Connecticut west to Missouri, and in the south from Florida west to Texas. It was described and named by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
Viola sororia, known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.
Cunila origanoides, with the common names stone mint, frost mint, dittany, and American dittany, is a perennial late-summer-flowering subshrub with small purple flowers that is native to the central and eastern United States. It belongs to the Lamiaceae (mint) family and is the only species in the Cunila genus native to the United States. It grows in habitats such as dry forests and the thin soil around rock outcrops. This species has historically been cultivated for use as a medicinal herb, tea, and ornamental plant.
Gentiana andrewsii, the bottle gentian, closed gentian, or closed bottle gentian, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the gentian family Gentianaceae. Gentiana andrewsii is native to northeastern North America, from the Dakotas to the East Coast and through eastern Canada.
Hypoxis hirsuta, commonly known as common goldstar, common star-grass, eastern yellow stargrass, yellow star grass, or yellow star flower, is a perennial ornamental plant in the family Hypoxidaceae. Sometimes this plant is placed in the family Amaryllidaceae or the family Liliaceae. The species is native to the United States, Canada, and northeastern Mexico.
Blephilia, the pagoda plant or wood mint, is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to eastern North America. Blephilia are most often found in open areas, glades, and mesic forests. All species of Blephilia are considered threatened or endangered in some states.
Oenothera fruticosa, the narrowleaf evening primrose or narrow-leaved sundrops, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family.
Dalibarda repens(dewdrop, false violet, star violet, Robin runaway. French Canadian: dalibarde rampante) is a perennial plant in the rose family, native to eastern and central Canada and to the northeastern and north-central United States. It is the only species in the genus Dalibarda, which is closely allied with the genus Rubus. The species is often included in the genus Rubus as Rubus repens (L.) Kuntze. It is fairly easily grown in shady locations in damp to wet, acidic soils, and is frequently used in wildflower and bog gardens as a ground-cover.
Scutellaria incana, the hoary skullcap or downy skullcap, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to North America and is primarily found in the eastern United States as well as some parts of the Midwest.
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. It is tolerant of deer and drought, and is visited by many pollinators.
Cypripedium passerinum is a species of lady's slipper orchid known by the common names sparrow's-egg lady's-slipper, spotted lady's-slipper, and Franklin's lady's-slipper.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central North America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
Blephilia ciliata is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the Lamiaceae (mint) family native to central and eastern North America. It is commonly called downy wood mint. Other common names include downy pagoda-plant, sunny woodmint and Ohio horsemint.
Vernonia missurica, the Missouri ironweed, is a species of magenta-flowered perennial plant from family Asteraceae native to the central and east central United States.
Clinopodium vulgare, the wild basil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae.
Teucrium canadense, commonly known as Canada germander, American germander, or wood sage, is a perennial herb in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to North America where it is found across the contiguous states of the United States and in much of Canada.
Monarda bradburiana, the eastern beebalm or Bradbury's beebalm, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to much of the southeastern United States.
Clinopodium menthifolium, commonly known as the wood calamint or woodland calamint, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is found throughout southern and central Europe from the United Kingdom and east as far as temperate parts of Asia, and as south as North Africa. It grows up to 1,700 m (5,600 ft) in elevation.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)