''Conradina'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the mint family,

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, savo ...

.Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tatyana V. Krestovskaja, Ramón Morales, Alan J. Paton, and P. Olof Ryding. 2004. "Labiatae" pages 167-275. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' volume VII. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg, Germany. Its

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

is false rosemary, or rarely, short leaf rosemary. There are 7

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of ''Conradina'', all

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 enterta ...

to the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

.Christine E. Edwards, Walter S. Judd, Gretchen M. Ionta, and Brenda Herring. 2009. "Using Population Genetic Data as a Tool to Identify New Species: ''Conradina cygniflora'' (Lamiaceae), a New, Endangered Species from Florida". ''Systematic Botany'' 34(4):747-759. ''Conradina verticillata'' grows on the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " All ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

.Alan S. Weakley. "Conradina" pages 745-746. In: ''Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia'' (title varying with update). (see External links below). The other five grow mainly in Florida. All of the species are closely related and there is some doubt about whether they are all separate. Most species occupy

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s with well-drained

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

s composed of white

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a soil texture, textur ...

. The genus ''Conradina'' was established by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually ex ...

in 1870.Asa Gray. 1870. ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 8:294. It was named for the American botanist

Solomon White Conrad Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succe ...

.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume I. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, USA. London, UK. (vol. I). (see ''External links'' below). False rosemary is adapted to

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s and open, scrubby areas. It is a woody

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 ...

shrub, often with masses of white to lavender blooms in the early spring or fall. These blooms attract several species of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

s. ''Conradina'' often has a scrubby appearance; however some plants seem to have a denser

habitus Habitus may refer to: * Habitus (biology), a term commonly used in biology as being less ambiguous than "habit" * Habitus (sociology), embodied dispositions or tendencies that organize how people perceive and respond to the world around them * ' ...

. ''Conradina'' is found growing in association with sand pines and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s, and may be a

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, ...

in disturbed areas.

Terpenes Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes a ...

released from false rosemary are allelopathic, and suppresses the growth of

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

. This is thought to help prevent

wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

. The plants are commonly up to in height. False rosemary has been suggested as a

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

plant for

xeriscaping Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other ...

because it is drought tolerant and grows well with little water, even in poor soils. False rosemary has flowers and scent similar to those of ''

Rosmarinus officinalis ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

''. Until recently, limited scientific study had been published on

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...

medicinal Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

or other properties of ''Conradina'', but it has been shown to be a potential source for numerous essential oils and other compounds.Brian P. Quinn, Ulrich R. Bernier, and Matthew M. Booth. 2007. "Identification of compounds from Etonia rosemary (Conradina etonia)". ''Journal of Chromatography A'' 1160(2007):306–310. (see ''External links'' below). Apart from ''

Conradina verticillata ''Conradina verticillata'' is a flowering shrub in the mint family, found in the Cumberland Plateau. It is also called ''Conradina montana'', Cumberland rosemary or Cumberland false rosemary. It has been classified as a threatened species under t ...

'', which is a

triploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of (homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

,USFWS
''Conradina verticillata'' (Cumberland Rosemary) determined to be threatened.
''Federal Register'' November 29, 1991. all of the species of ''Conradina'' are

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respecti ...

and have a haploid

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectiv ...

of 12. ''Conradina'' has been the subject of genetic research.Home Page of Christine E. Edwards. (see ''External links'' below).

Species

Affinities

''Conradina'' is one of the southeastern scrub mints. This group consists of '' Dicerandra'', '' Stachydeoma'', '' Piloblephis'', ''Conradina'', and four species of the

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

genus ''

Clinopodium ''Clinopodium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. It is in the tribe Mentheae of the subfamily Nepetoideae, but little else can be said with certainty about its phylogenetic position. The genus name ''Clinopodium'' is de ...

'' that will eventually be transferred out of that genus. All are shrubs except ''Dicerandra''. They are

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention * Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band * Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehor ...

to the southeastern

. ''Conradina'' is distinguished from the others by a sharply bent

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

tube.Christine E. Edwards, David Lefkowitz, Douglas E. Soltis, and Pamela S. Soltis. 2008. "Phylogeny of ''Conradina'' and related southeastern scrub mints (Lamiaceae) based on GapC Gene Sequences". ''International Journal of Plant Sciences'' 169(4):579-594.

References

Sources

* (1) FNAI. 2000. ''Field Guide to the Rare Plants and Animals of Florida online''. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. * (2) Godfrey, R. K. 1988. ''Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama''. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.

External links

Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia

''Conradina''
In
Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
At
Biodiversity Heritage Library

CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: A-C
At
Botany & Plant Science
At
Life Science
At
CRC Press

Compounda from ''Conradina etonia''

Homepage of Christine E. Edwards

U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Database

Florida Plant Atlas

Center for Plant Conservation National; Collection of Imperiled Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3776340 Lamiaceae genera Flora of the Southeastern United States Taxa named by Asa Gray