The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

s like basil, mint,

rosemary ''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 ''Rosma ...

, sage,

savory Savory or Savoury may refer to: Common usage * Herbs of the genus ''Satureja'', particularly: ** Summer savory (''Satureja hortensis''), an annual herb, used to flavor food ** Winter savory (''Satureja montana''), a perennial herb, also used to ...

, marjoram, oregano, hyssop,

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenous ...

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and east ...

, and perilla, as well as other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm,

wild dagga ''Leonotis leonurus'', also known as lion's tail and wild dagga, is a plant species in the mint family, Lamiaceae. The plant is a broadleaf evergreen large shrub native to South Africa and southern Africa, where it is very common.oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs,

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s (such as teak), or, rarely,

vine A vine ( Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners thems ...

s. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as '' Salvia hispanica'' (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as '' Plectranthus edulis'', '' Plectranthus esculentus'', ''

Plectranthus rotundifolius ''Coleus rotundifolius'', synonyms ''Plectranthus rotundifolius'' and ''Solenostemon rotundifolius'', commonly known as native or country potato in Africa and called Chinese potato in India, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the mint family ...

'', and ''

Stachys affinis ''Stachys affinis'', commonly called crosne, Chinese artichoke, Japanese artichoke, knotroot, or artichoke betony, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Lamiaceae, originating from China. Its rhizome is a root vegetable that can be e ...

'' (Chinese artichoke). Many are also grown ornamentally, notably

coleus ''Coleus'' is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Old World tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenostemon'' and ...

, '' Plectranthus'', and many '' Salvia'' species and hybrids. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. The enlarged Lamiaceae contain about 236

genera 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 ...

and have been stated to contain 6,900 to 7,200

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 ...

, but the World Checklist lists 7,534. The largest genera are ''Salvia'' (900), ''Scutellaria'' (360), ''Stachys'' (300), ''Plectranthus'' (300), ''Hyptis'' (280), ''Teucrium'' (250), ''Vitex'' (250), ''Thymus'' (220), and ''Nepeta'' (200). ''Clerodendrum'' was once a genus of over 400 species, but by 2010, it had been narrowed to about 150. The family has traditionally been considered closely related to the Verbenaceae;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. in the 1990s,

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies suggested that many

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...

in the Verbenaceae should be classified in the Lamiaceae Cantino, P.D., Harley, R.M. & Wagstaff, S.J. 1992. Genera of Labiatae: status and classification. Pp. 511-522. In: Raymond M. Harley and Tom Reynolds (editors). ''Advances in Labiate Science.'' Richmond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. or to other families in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Lamiales The order Lamiales (also known as the mint order) are an order in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It includes about 23,810 species, 1,059 genera, and is divided into about 25 families. These families include Acanthaceae, B ...

The alternative family name Labiatae refers to the flowers typically having petals fused into an upper lip and a lower lip (' in Latin). The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s are bilaterally symmetrical with five united

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s and five united

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s. They are usually

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

and verticillastrate (a flower cluster that looks like a whorl of flowers, but actually consists of two crowded clusters). Although this is still considered an acceptable alternative name, most botanists now use the name Lamiaceae in referring to this family. The leaves emerge oppositely, each pair at right angles to the previous one (decussate) or whorled. The stems are frequently square in cross section, but this is not found in all members of the family, and is sometimes found in other plant families.

Genera

Leucas aspera at Gandipet, Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9054

Orthosiphon pallidus (Jyoti) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8284

The last revision of the entire family was published in 2004. It described and provided keys to 236 genera. These are marked with an asterisk (*) in the list below. A few genera have been established or resurrected since 2004. These are marked with a plus sign (+). Other genera have been synonymised. These are marked with a minus sign (-). The remaining genera in the list are mostly of historical interest only and are from a source that includes such genera without explanation."List of genera in Lamiaceae". In: "Lamiaceae". In: "List of families". In: "Families and genera in GRIN. (see ''External links'' below) Few of these are recognized in modern treatments of the family. Kew Gardens provides a list of genera that includes additional information.List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Vascular Plant Families and Genera. At: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. At: Electronic Plant Information Center. At: Website of ''Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew''. (see ''External Links'' below). A list at the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Website The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (or APweb) is a website dedicated to research on angiosperm phylogeny and taxonomy. The site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden website and maintained by researchers, Peter F. Stevens and Hilary M. Davis. ...

is frequently updated.

Recent changes

The circumscription of several genera has changed since 2004. ''Tsoongia'', ''Paravitex'', and ''Viticipremna'' have been sunk into synonymy with ''Vitex''. ''Huxleya'' has been sunk into ''Volkameria''. ''Kalaharia'', ''Volkameria'', ''Ovieda'', and ''Tetraclea'' have been segregated from a formerly

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 ...

''Clerodendrum''. ''Rydingia'' has been separated from ''Leucas''. The remaining ''Leucas'' is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

over four other genera.

Subfamilies and tribes

In 2004, the Lamiaceae were divided into seven subfamilies, plus 10 genera not placed in any of the subfamilies. The unplaced genera are: '' Tectona'', '' Callicarpa'', '' Hymenopyramis'', '' Petraeovitex'', ''

Peronema ''Peronema'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1822. It contains only one known species, ''Peronema canescens'', native to Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗ� ...

'', '' Garrettia'', '' Cymaria'', '' Acrymia'', ''

Holocheila ''Holocheila'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described as a genus in 1962. It contains only one known species, ''Holocheila longipedunculata''. It is endemic to Yunnan Province in China China, officially th ...

'', and ''

Ombrocharis ''Ombrocharis'' is a genus of flowering plant in the tribe Elsholtzieae of the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1936. It contains only one known species, ''Ombrocharis dulcis'', endemic to Hunan Province in China China, officially t ...

''. The subfamilies are the

Symphorematoideae ''Sympheromatoideae''Briquet JI, Engler A, Prantl KAE (1895) ''Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien. Leipzig'' IV, 3a: 144. is a subfamily of flowering plants in the Lamiaceae. Genera * ''Congea'' * ''Sphenodesme'' * ''Symphorema'' References ...

Viticoideae Viticoideae is one of seven subfamilies in the sage family, Lamiaceae. Genera This subfamily contains the following 10 genera: * ''Cornutia'' L. * '' Gmelina'' L. * ''Paravitex'' Fletcher * '' Petitia'' Jacq. * ''Pseudocarpidium'' Millsp. * '' ...

, Ajugoideae,

Prostantheroideae Prostantheroideae is a subfamily of plants in the family Lamiaceae. Genera include: * '' Brachysola'' * '' Chloanthes'' * '' Cyanostegia'' * ''Dasymalla'' * '' Dicrastylis'' * '' Hemiandra'' * '' Hemigenia'' * ''Hemiphora'' * '' Lachnostachys'' ...

, Nepetoideae, Scutellarioideae, and Lamioideae. The subfamily Viticoideae is probably not

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

. The Prostantheroideae and Nepetoideae are divided into

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

. These are shown in the phylogenetic tree below.

Phylogeny

Most of the genera of Lamiaceae have never been sampled for DNA for

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies. Most of those that have been are included in the following phylogenetic tree. The

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

depicted below is based on seven different sources.

References

External links

* *
Lamiaceae
i
L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
https://delta-intkey.com {{Authority control Lamiales families