''Lepechinia fragrans'' is a flowering herbaceous shrub known by the common names island pitchersage and fragrant pitchersage. It is a member of the Lamiaceae, or

mint family The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, ...

, but like other '' Lepechinia'', the flowers are borne in racemes instead of in mintlike whorls.

Distribution

''Lepechinia fragrans'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is found in open areas in chaparral, in dry ravines, on rocky slopes and ridgetops, between 60 and 1100 meters. It is known in the Trifuno Pass area of the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

and in the San Gabriel Mountains, as well as the north

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. It may also exist in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

and areas on the south coast below Los Angeles County, California. It is threatened by development and by fire management. While it is not listed as a

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

plant by the State of California or by the U.S. federal government, it is listed by the

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)3) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to con ...

as a plant of limited distribution which is fairly endangered and should be watched.

Description

''Lepechinia fragrans'' is a vase-shaped herbaceous shrub from 60 centimeters to just under 2 meters in height and equal in spread. It tends to grow taller in shade, and somewhat shorter in full sun. The plant itself is light green, but the many hairs give it a fuzzy grayish-green appearance. The entire plant is hairy, with long nonglandular hairs and glands which have short or no stalks. It has a pleasant scent which may be released when the glands are touched. Its arching branches become woody toward the base of the plant. It has the square stems of the mint family, which are very pronounced in this species. The leaves can be deltate-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, and are smooth-edged or slightly serrate. The lower ones are petioled below and generally larger, to 12 centimeters. Upper leaves can lack petioles and are generally smaller, as little as 4 centimeters in length. Like many of California's plants, it has two types of leaves. Larger, lusher leaves are produced during the rainy season in winter, and some of these are shed during the dry season, and are replaced by leaves which are smaller and more gray in color The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s range in color from white to pale pink to medium purple. The calyx has 5 lobes and is slightly two-lipped. It is persistent in fruit and enlarges, becoming slightly inflated and turning purple. The corolla is bell-shaped and 2.5 to 3 centimeters long. It is also two-lipped, with the upper lip divided into 4 lobes, and a larger, unlobed lower lip. There are two pairs of stamens and a double-lobed

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

in the flower's throat. The fruit is a cluster of four smooth to shiny nutlets which are dark brown to black in color. They are round to ovate, with a length of 2 to 4 millimeters.

Cultivation

The ''Lepechinia fragrans'' plant is easy to grow, and is easy to propagate from

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

, but can be a short-lived

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

in the garden. ''Lepechinia fragrans'' "has the most attractive flowers and most pleasing scent of all our native pitcher sage species" according to ''California Native Plants for the Garden''.Bornstein, Fross, and O'Brien. 2005. ''California Native Plants for the Garden''. Cachuma Press. It is pollinated by

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

s. It will grow in sun or light shade, and does best in soils with good drainage. It should be pinched back to create a more compact, fuller plant. The

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

'El Tigre' has darker blooms and more purple in the calyx and bracts.

References

*Harley, Ray. 2000. In Search of Labiatae in Eastern Brazil, Vitex, A Newsletter for Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae Research. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK *Junak, Ayers, Scott, Wilken, and Young; 1995. A Flora of Santa Cruz Island. CNPS Press and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lepechinia fragrans''CalFlora Database: ''Lepechinia fragrans'' (fragrant pitcher sage)USDA Plants Profile: Lepechinia fragrans''Lepechinia fragrans'' - Photo gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6527337 fragrans Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges ~ Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status