''Monardella lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the

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, ...

known by the common names mustang mint and mustang monardella. It is native to the mountains of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, where it grows in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, woodland, rocky slopes, and often disturbed habitat types.

Description

''Monardella lanceolata'' is variable in appearance and sometimes divided into a number of indistinct varieties. In general, it is an annual herb producing a branching, purple stem with a coat of glandular hairs. The lance-shaped leaves are 3 or 4 centimeters long and oppositely arranged about the stem. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a head of several flowers blooming in a cup of hairy, pointed, purple-tinged

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. The flowers are purple in color and roughly 1.5 centimeters long.

External links

Calflora Database: ''Monardella breweri'' ssp. ''lanceolata'' (Mustang mint)
— ''current classification of Monardella lanceolata''.
Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of ''Monardella breweri'' ssp. ''lanceolata''
— ''current classification of Monardella lanceolata''.
USDA Plants Profile: Monardella lanceolata''Monardella lanceolata'' - Photo gallery
lanceolata Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Lamiaceae-stub