Hairy woodmint (Blephilia hirsuta)

Features and Characteristics

Blephilia hirsuta, commonly called wood mint, is a Missouri native perennial which occurs in rich, moist, shady woods, slopes and valleys throughout the State in a scattering of counties. A clump-forming, mint family member that features square stems rising to 30″ tall. Blue-purple, two-lipped flowers appear in late spring to mid-summer in several tiered, whorled, globular clusters in an interrupted terminal spike, with each cluster being subtended by (resting upon) a whorl of fringed bracts. Similar in appearance to the closely related monardas. Stems and leaves are hairy (hirsuta in Latin means hairy). Ovate stem leaves are long-stalked, toothed and mildly fragrant when crushed. Leaves are usually considered to be lacking in the pungency and quality needed for use as a culinary herb. Small basal leaves and shoots remain green throughout the winter. This plant is very similar to Blephilia ciliata, except it is hairy, its stems are more frequently branched and its leaves have long stalks and noticeable teeth.

Genus name comes from the Greek blepharis meaning an eyelash for the bracts being fringed by hairs.

Specific epithet in Latin means hairy.