LAMIACEAE – MINT FAMILY Plant: herbs, shrubs and rarely trees; often aromatic from oils Stem: most with square stems (but not definitive for mints) Root: Leaves: simple, sometimes pinnate; mostly opposite Flowers: perfect, very rarely unisexual; regular (actinomorphic) but often irregular (zygomorphic); usually small, often in spikes (or clusters) and whorls in axils of leaves; 5 united sepals, 5-part corolla usually as a tube with 2 lips, upper lip 2-lobed and lower lip 3-lobed (other divisions possible); stamens 2 or 4, often unequal in length; ovary superior, carpels 2 but appears as 4 often due to division into nutlets Fruit: usually 4 nutlets, 1-seeded, enclosed by persisting calyx Other: very common and numerous; exceptions to above characters do occur; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 250+ genera; selected local genera – Agastache (giant hyssop), Glechoma (ground ivy), Lamium, Leonurus, Mentha (mint), Monarda (bee-balm), Nepeta, Physostegia, Prunella (self-heal), Pycnanthemum (mountain mint) WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive Flower Morphology in the 5 united sepals, 5 united petals usually expressed as lobes (many strongly 2-lobed (3+2) but most combinations or none possible), ovary superior; stems usually square; many aromatic Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Examples of a few common genera (N-Z) Blue [Pitcher] Sage Smooth [Common] Hedge-Nettle Catnip Salvia azurea Michx. ex Lam. var. grandiflora Stachys tenuifolia Willd. Nepeta cataria L. (Introduced) Narrowleaf False Dragonhead [Obedient Plant] American [Canadian] Physostegia angustifolia Fernald Germander [Wood Sage] Teucrium canadense L. Heart-Leaved Skullcap Virginia Mountain-Mint Scutellaria ovata Hill ssp. Ovata Pycnanthemum virginianum (L.) T. Forked Bluecurls [Bastard Pennyroyal] Dur. & B.D. Jackson ex B.L. Robins. & Fern. Trichostema dichotomum L. LAMIACEAE – MINT FAMILY Catnip; Nepeta cataria L. (Introduced) Beafsteak Plant; Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. crispa (Introduced) Beafsteak Plant; Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. frutescens. (Introduced) Narrowleaf False Dragonhead [Obedient Plant]; Physostegia angustifolia Fernald Slender False Dragonhead; Physostegia intermedia (Nutt.) Engelm. & Gray False Dragonhead [Obedient Plant]; Physostegia virginiana (L.) Benth. Common Selfheal [Heal-All]; Prunella vulgaris L. Whiteleaf Mountain Mint; Pycnanthemum albescens Torr. & A. Gray Narrowleaf [Slender] Mountain Mint; Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Schrad. Whorled [Hairy] Mountain-Mint; Pycnanthemum verticillatum (Michx.) Pers. var. pilosum (Nutt.) Cooperrider Virginia Mountain-Mint; Pycnanthemum virginianum (L.) T. Dur. & B.D. Jackson ex B.L. Robins. & Fern. Blue [Pitcher] Sage; Salvia azurea Michx. ex Lam. var. grandiflora Lyre-Leaved Sage [Cancer Weed]; Salvia lyrata L. Hairy Skullcap; Scutellaria elliptica Muhl. ex Spreng. var. elliptica Hairy Skullcap; Scutellaria elliptica Muhl. ex Spreng. var. hirsuta (Short & Peter) Fernald Marsh Skullcap; Scutellaria galericulata L. [S. epilobiifolia] Hoary [Downy] Skullcap; Scutellaria incana Biehler var. incana Blue [Mad Dog] Skullcap; Scutellaria lateriflora L. var. Lateriflora Heart-Leaved Skullcap; Scutellaria ovata Hill ssp. Ovata Small Skullcap; Scutellaria parvula Michx. LAMIACEAE – MINT FAMILY Hyssopleaf [Rough] Hedgenettle; Stachys aspera Michx. Woolly Hedgenettle [Lamb’s Ear]; Stachys byzantina K. Koch (Introduced) Smooth Hedge-Nettle; Stachys tenuifolia Willd. American [Canadian] Germander [Wood Sage]; Teucrium canadense L. False Pennyroyal [Fluxweed]; Trichostema brachiatum L. [Isanthus brachiatus] Forked Bluecurls [Bastard Pennyroyal]; Trichostema dichotomum L. Catnip USDA Nepeta cataria L. (Introduced) Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 2-lipped flower, pale lilac to white with purple spots, 4 stamens, mostly in dense spikes (terminal and branches); leaves coarsely (rounded or crenate) toothed with somewhat cordate base; finely hairy or downy all over; cats like it!; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2005] Beafsteak Plant USDA Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. crispa (Introduced) Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Shawnee State Park, Scioto County, Ohio Notes: 2-lipped flower, white to purple, sometimes shorter than calyx; leaves ovate, slightly pointed, coarsely and irregularly serrate or lobed, with petiole, leaf turns purple with age; stem and calyx very hairy; late summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2006] Beafsteak Plant USDA Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. frutescens. (Introduced) Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Sam A. Baker State Park, Madison County, Missouri Notes: 2-lipped flower, white to purple, usually shorter than calyx; leaves ovate, pointed, coarsely serrate, with petiole; stem and calyx very hairy [V Max Brown, 2006] Narrowleaf False USDA Dragonhead [Obedient Plant] Physostegia angustifolia Fernald Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Prairie State Park, Barton County, Missouri Notes: large tubular flower, strongly 2-lipped, white to pink to rose, purple spotted, hairy or not, 4 stamens, in dense terminal spikes; leaves stiff, narrowly lanceolate, (mostly < 1.5cm wide), serrate, opposite; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2010] Slender False Dragonhead USDA Physostegia intermedia (Nutt.) Engelm. & Gray Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Ash Flat area, Sharp County, Arkansas Notes: 2-lipped tubular flower, white with pink to rose tint, pink-purple spotted on interior, smaller than flowers of Obedient Plant, in dense spikes; leaves entire to wavy- edged (not or poorly toothed), opposite; wet areas; summer [V Max Brown, 2007] False Dragonhead [Obedient Plant] USDA Physostegia virginiana (L.) Benth. Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: large tubular flower, strongly 2-lipped, white to pink to rose, purple spotted, hairy or not, 4 stamens, in dense terminal spikes; leaves lanceolate, serrate, opposite; when flower pushed to one side, it is obedient; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2004] Common Selfheal [Heal-All] USDA Prunella vulgaris L. Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Maumee River Metroparks, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: flower bluish, purple to white, upper lip hooded and lower lip fringed, 4 stamens, crowded in bracts forming a square to oblong compact head; leaves lanceolate, with petioles; very common; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2003] Whiteleaf Mountain Mint USDA Pycnanthemum albescens Torr. & A. Gray Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Big Cane Conservation Area, Butler County, Missouri Notes: 2-lipped flower, white, with purple spots, calyx hairy, calyx teeth lanceolate to deltoid and without bristles, upper bracts and often top-most leaves strongly whitened on upper surface, cymes spread out; leaves oppostie, lanceolate with small teeth, width usually less than 3X length of leaf, somewhat felty hairy; stem finely hairy; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2011] Narrowleaf [Slender] Mountain Mint USDA Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Schrad. Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Lake Charles State Park, Lawrence County, Arkansas Notes: 2-lipped flower, white, often some faint purple spots, calyx hairy or not, heads dense, cymes somewhat open below; leaf linear, entire, opposite, mostly glabrous; stem square, mostly glabrous on sides and angles; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2007] Whorled [Hairy] USDA Mountain-Mint Pycnanthemum verticillatum (Michx.) Pers. var. pilosum (Nutt.) Cooperrider Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 2-lipped flower, white, often purple spotted, in dense head clusters; leaf lanceolate, slightly toothed, ~4x long as wide, opposite; both leaves and stem very hairy; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2005] Virginia Mountain-Mint USDA Pycnanthemum virginianum (L.) T. Dur. & B.D. Jackson ex B.L. Robins. & Fern. Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Pokagon State Park, Steuben County, Indiana Notes: 2-lipped flower, white, in dense heads; leaves linear to linear-lanceolate, hairy on bottom; stem with abundant hairs mostly confined to angles; wet areas; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2006] Blue [Pitcher] Sage USDA Salvia azurea Michx. ex Lam. var. grandiflora Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Greene County, Missouri Notes: strongly 2-lipped flower, blue (rarely white), calyx with 3 triangular teeth; leaves linear lanceolate, mostly sessile or short petiolate, usually toothed; tall plant; glades and prairies; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2010] Lyre-Leaved Sage [Cancer Weed] USDA Salvia lyrata L. Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Alley Springs, Ozark National Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: strongly 2-lipped flower, lavender to blue or violet, upper and lower calyx divided by sinus, calyx tipped by awns or bristles, up to ~12 flowers at nodes; leaves mostly basal (4-6 at most cauline leaves), pinnatifid, toothed; stem very hairy; spring to early summer [V Max Brown, 2010] Hairy Skullcap USDA Scutellaria elliptica Muhl. ex Spreng. var. elliptica Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Shawnee State Park, Scioto County, Ohio Notes: 2-lipped flower, blue with white blotch on interior, fine downy hairy, calyx hairs glandular; leaves mostly ovate, V-shaped at base, stalked, with numerous rounded teeth (crenate), 2-5 pairs of leaves; stem fine downy, hairs in-curved upward; summer [V Max Brown, 2007] Hairy Skullcap USDA Scutellaria elliptica Muhl. ex Spreng. var. hirsuta (Short & Peter) Fernald Lamiaceae (Mint Family) Taum Sauk Moutain State Park, Iron County, Missouri Notes: 2-lipped flower, blue with white blotch on interior, downy hairy, calyx hairs glandular; leaves mostly ovate, V-shaped at base, stalked,