''Dicerandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the
mint family
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, savor ...
. ''Dicerandra'' comprises 11 species: six perennial and five annual species. The perennials have narrow ranges in Central Florida with small population sizes and only occur on ancient dune ridges along the
Lake Wales Ridge or the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coastal ridge; the annual species occur more broadly on sandhill habitats to the north. The perennials’ habitat has been severely fragmented due to human development over the past century. As a result, all perennial species except one are listed as federally endangered.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution maps
/ref> Annual species of the clade have large ranges when compared to perennial members, with distributions of annuals ranging for hundreds of miles from the Panhandle of Florida to southeastern Georgia,[Huck, R. B. (2008)]
''Dicerandra modesta'' (Lamiaceae): Raise in rank for a disjunct perennial in a new coastal clade in Florida.
''J Bot Res Inst Texas'' 2:2 1163.
The phylogenetics of this genus have been studied before; first by Robin Huck in 1987, who described Section ''Dicerandra,'' which includes all species with standard-lobed corollas and exserted stamens, and section ''Lecontea'' which includes ''D. odoratissima'' and ''D. radfordiana'' that have cucullate-lobed corolla species with inserted stamens.
Ecology
''Dicerandra'' species are found along ancient sand-hill habitats in the southeastern US.Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...
. Southern perennials either occur on red sands along the Lake Wales Ridge or on white sands along the Atlantic coast. They prefer open habitats free from tree cover and rapidly draining soils. Some, like ''Dicerandra cornutissima'', have been reported along Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from ...
where frequent machine clearing have provided a suitable habitat.
Species
:Dicerandra densiflora
''Dicerandra densiflora'', the Florida balm, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names scrub mint and scrub balm. It is native to North Central Florida, where it occurs along sand hill habitats. It is a member ...
'' Benth. - northern Florida
# '' Dicerandra frutescens'' Shinners - scrub mint - central Florida
# ''Dicerandra fumella
''Dicerandra fumella'' is a species of ''Dicerandra'' native to the Florida Panhandle. It was formerly classified as a variety of ''Dicerandra linearifolia''. A hybrid zone between ''Dicerandra fumella'' and ''Dicerandra linearifolia'' var. ''rob ...
'' Huck - Florida panhandle, southern Alabama
# ''Dicerandra immaculata
''Dicerandra immaculata'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names Lakela's mint, Olga's mint, and spotless balm. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is known only from Indian River a ...
'' Lakela - Lakela's mint = ''Dicerandra frutescens'' var. ''immaculata'' (Lakela) D.B.Ward
# ''Dicerandra linearifolia
''Dicerandra linearifolia'', or coastal plain balm, is a species of ''Dicerandra'' native to the Southeastern Coastal Plain, United States.
It is the species of ''Dicerandra'' with the widest distribution, spreading from Alabama in the west to s ...
'' (Elliott) Benth. - coastal plain mint - southern Georgia, southern Alabama, northern Florida
# '' Dicerandra modesta'' (Huck) Huck = ''Dicerandra frutescens'' subsp. ''modesta'' Huck
# ''Dicerandra odoratissima
''Dicerandra odoratissima'', commonly known as the rose balm, is a species of ''Dicerandra'' native to the Southeastern Coastal Plain, with a geographic range that extends from eastern Georgia to southern South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque p ...
'' R.M.Harper - rose balm - southern South Carolina, southeastern Georgia
# ''Dicerandra radfordiana
''Dicerandra radfordiana'', or Radford's balm, is an annual species of ''Dicerandra'' native to Eastern Georgia. It is found along the Altamaha River
The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It flows generally eas ...
'' Huck - Radford's balm - McIntosh County in Georgia
# ''Dicerandra thinicola
''Dicerandra thinicola'', known as Titusville mint, is a species of ''Dicerandra'' (mint family) native to the Atlantic coastal ridge along the Central Florida coast. It is restricted to a 50-km range, and all known natural populations of ''D. th ...
'' H.A.Mill - Titusville mint = ''Dicerandra frutescens'' subsp. ''thinicola'' (H.A.Mill.) D.B.Ward
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3776335
Lamiaceae genera
Flora of the Southeastern United States