Hyptis alata

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Common names: clustered bushmint [1] , musky mint [2]

Hyptis alata
Hyptis alata SEF.jpg
Photo by the Southeastern Flora Plant Database
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicots
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Hyptis
Species: H. alata
Binomial name
Hyptis alata
Raf.
HYPE ALAT DIST.JPG
Natural range of Hyptis alata from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Taxonomic Notes

Synonyms: H. radiata Willdenow

Description

H. alata is a perennial forb/herb of the Lamiaceae family that is native to North America.[1] It can grow up to 4 feet tall with round flower heads and individual flowers spotted with purple. Leaves simple, oppositely arranged, lanceolate, and with serrated leaf margins. As well, its common name comes from the musky mint odor the plant gives off.[3]

Distribution

H. alata is specifically found in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas in the southeastern United States. [1] It is also native to the West Indies.[4]

Ecology

Habitat

H. alata is commonly found in wet pine savannas, edges of swamp forests, and moist ditches.[4] Additionally, habitats that specimens of H. alata have been recovered from include pine flatwoods, in sandy peat of swampland, burned pineland, cypress dome, wet sandy loam, and coastal hammock.[5] This species can grow in full sun and part shade, moist to wet sandy soils, acidic to circumneutral soil pH, and is cold and heat tolerant.[3] It is listed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as an obligate wetland species that is almost exclusively found in wetland habitats.[1]

Phenology

Generally, H. alata flowers from late June until September.[4] It has been observed to flower in June, July, September, and October. [6]

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 USDA Plant Database
  2. Kalmbacher, R. S., et al. (1994). "South Florida flatwoods range vegetation responses to season of deferment from grazing." Journal of Range Management 47(1): 43-47.
  3. 3.0 3.1 [[1]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: May 30, 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  5. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2018. Collectors: R.K. Godfrey, R. Kral, Samuel B. Jones, Jr., Karen MacClendon, Gary R. Knight, Loran C. Anderson. States and counties: Florida (Charlotte, Brevard, Calhoun, Jackson, Franklin), Mississippi (Lamar)
  6. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 22 MAY 2018