''Physostegia virginiana'', the obedient plant, obedience or false dragonhead, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the mint

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Lamiaceae 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 ...

. It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to North America, where it is distributed from eastern Canada to northern Mexico. ''Physostegia'' are known commonly as obedient plants because a flower pushed to one side will often stay in that position.''Physostegia virginiana''.
Missouri Botanical Garden. The name “false dragonhead” refers to the dragonheads of the related ''

Dracocephalum ''Dracocephalum'' is a genus of about 60Sonboli, A., et al. (2011)Molecular characterization of Iranian ''Dracocephalum'' (Lamiaceae) species based on RAPD data.''Acta Biologica Szegediensis'' 55(2), 227-30. to 70 speciesLazarević, P., et al. ( ...

'', a genus to which the plant once belonged.''Physostegia virginiana''.
NatureServe. 2012.

Description

It is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

producing clumps of stiff, squared stems tall. The leaves are lanceolate and toothed. 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 long, dense raceme containing many tubular pink flowers which resemble

snapdragons ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to r ...

. The open fruit is shaped like a vase and contains four triangular, black seeds.

Taxonomy

There are two recognized

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. They are: *''Physostegia virginiana'' ssp. ''praemorsa'' - Widespread farther south, to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

.''Physostegia virginiana.
USDA PLANTS. It has larger flowers, with sterile bracts below the inflorescence, and lacks rhizomes. It is typically found in dry upland sites such as prairies and glades. *''Physostegia virginiana'' ssp. ''virginiana'' - Found farther north and west. It has smaller flowers that lack sterile bracts. It is patch-forming from rhizomes. It is typically found in wetter habitats, such as streambanks and bottomlands. Cultivars of ''P. virginiana'' often do not fit well into either of the two varieties and are intermediate in characters. They are thought to have originated from hybridization between the two subspecies.

Cultivation

It is considered a good plant for adding late-season flowers to a garden. Fertile soils produce robust growth and wide spreading, and the plant may require staking. When it grows tall it has a "tendency toward floppiness" that can be controlled with

pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...

. It can be aggressive and dominate a landscape.

Cultivars

Several

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, ...

s have been bred for color variety. Some () have earned the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Cultivars include. *'Alba' - white flowers. *'Crown of Snow' - white flowers *'Pink Bouquet' - rose pink flowers *'Rosea' - pink flowers *'Rosy Spire' - lavender-pink flowers *'Summer Snow' () - pure white flowers *'Variegata' - pink flowers, green and white variegated leaves *'Vivid' () - bright pink flowers

References

External links

''Physostegia virginiana'' (L.) Benth.
ITIS.
''Physostegia virginiana''.
Floridata. {{Taxonbar, from=Q908842 Flora of Northern America Perennial plants virginiana