FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Hairy square stems and small, soft leaves smell strongly of mint when crushed.
Synonym(s): Koellia hugeri, Koellia hyssopifolia, Pycnanthemum hyssopifolium
Description: Leafy perennial herb with sturdy stems, growing to about 0.8 m tall.
Leaves: Small, soft, lance-shaped leaves with smooth margins. Leaves are very minty-fragrant when crushed.
Flowers/Fruit: Flowers are ball-like heads of tiny flowers in an open cluster at the top of the plant, appearing as a flat-topped inflorescence. Fruits are gray-brown elongated capsules holding tiny seeds. Flowers June to September; fruits September to October.
Habit and Range: Found in pine wetlands, margins of pocosins in the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont. Local populations in three southwestern mountain counties.
Taxonomic Note: Also called Appalachian mountain-mint, a misnomer.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Compared to Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (slender mountain-mint), Pycnanthemum flexuosum (savanna mountain-mint) has minutely hairy stems, is taller overall, and has wider leaves with a few teeth on the margins.
Click here to view Pycnanthemum tenuifolium.
Link to side-by-side comparisons page
