''Pycnanthemum'' is a genus of herbaceous plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Species in this genus are often referred to as "mountain mints" and they often have a minty or thyme-like aroma when crushed. All species of ''Pycnanthemum'' are native to the United States and Canada. The center of diversity for the genus is North Carolina with 13 of the 20 species having been collected therein. Nineteen of the 20 species of ''Pycnanthemum'' occur in the Eastern US and Canada, and one disjunct species ('' P. californicum'') occurs in California and Oregon. ''Pycnanthemum'' belongs to the true mint subtribe (Menthinae), and it has been shown to be closely related to the '' Monarda'', ''

Blephilia ''Blephilia'', the pagoda plant or wood mint, is a genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to eastern North America. ''Blephilia'' are most often found in open areas, glades, an ...

'', and the scrub mints of the Southeastern United States. Relationships within the genus remain unresolved. A complicated history of

polyploidization Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

paired with cryptic morphologies makes this a challenging group for systematists.

Species

* '' Pycnanthemum albescens'' – white-leaved mountainmint – south-central US * '' Pycnanthemum beadlei'' – North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia * '' Pycnanthemum californicum'' Torr. ex Durand – Sierra mint – California * '' Pycnanthemum clinopodioides'' Torr. & A.Gray – mid-Atlantic States, Tennessee, Indiana * ''

Pycnanthemum curvipes ''Pycnanthemum curvipes'' is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name stone mountainmint. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is found in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Its p ...

'' – southeastern US * ''

Pycnanthemum flexuosum ''Pycnanthemum'' is a genus of herbaceous plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Species in this genus are often referred to as "mountain mints" and they often have a minty or thyme-like aroma when crushed. All species of ''Pycnanthemum'' are ...

'' – southeastern US * '' Pycnanthemum floridanum'' – Florida mountainmint – Florida, southern Georgia * ''

Pycnanthemum incanum ''Pycnanthemum incanum'', with the common name hoary mountainmint, "mountain mint", wild basil or hoary basil, is a herbaceous perennial in the mint family. Distribution The plant is widespread across Eastern United States and into Ontario, Cana ...

'' – hoary mountainmint, hoary basil, wild basil – Ontario, most of US east of the Mississippi River * '' Pycnanthemum loomisii'' – Loomis' mountainmint – southeastern US, Ohio Valley * †'' Pycnanthemum monotrichum'' Fernald – Virginia but extinct * '' Pycnanthemum montanum'' – southern Appalachians * '' Pycnanthemum muticum'' – short-toothed mountainmint – much of eastern US from east Texas to southern Maine * '' Pycnanthemum nudum'' Nutt. – Coastal Plain mountainmint – southeastern US * '' Pycnanthemum pilosum'' ( = ''P. verticillatum'' var. ''pilosum'') – hairy mountainmint, whorled mountainmint * '' Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides'' – southern mountainmint – southeastern US, Ohio Valley * '' Pycnanthemum setosum'' – awned mountainmint – southeastern + mid-Atlantic US * '' Pycnanthemum tenuifolium'' – little-leaved mountainmint, slender-leaved mountainmint (= ''P. flexuosum'' ) – Quebec, Ontario, eastern + central US * '' Pycnanthemum torreyi'' – Torrey's mountainmint – eastern + east-central US * '' Pycnanthemum verticillatum'' – whorled mountainmint – Quebec, Ontario, eastern + central US * '' Pycnanthemum virginianum'' – Virginia mountainmint – Quebec, Ontario, eastern + central US Pycnanthemum curvipes (14698304290).jpg, ''

'' Pycnanthemum flexuosum 1zz.jpg, ''

'' Pycnanthemum incanum UGA1120218.jpg, ''

'' Pycnanthemum muticum (14945847337).jpg, '' Pycnanthemum muticum'' Pycnanthemum tenuifolium kz1.jpg, '' Pycnanthemum tenuifolium'' in bud Pycnanthemum-virginianum.JPG, '' Pycnanthemum virginianum''

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Germplasm Resources Information Network &ndash
''Pycnanthemum''
Version of 2007-OCT-05. Retrieved 2011-FEB-18.

External links

Barbara Pleasant. The Herb Companion: Herb-To-Know: Mountain Mint.
* ttp://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/kings/pycnanthemum.html Henriette's Herbal Homepage: ''Pycnanthemum''. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2707696 Lamiaceae genera Flora of North America