''Pycnanthemum californicum'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

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, sav ...

known by the common name Sierra mint, mountain mint, and California mint.Calflora: ''Pycnanthemum californicum''
/ref>Jepson eFlora: ''Pycnanthemum californicum''
/ref>

Distribution

The plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where it is native to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Pacific Coast Range ...

, Eastern

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of Southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa Ba ...

, and Inner Northern

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte County, California, Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Trans ...

. It grows at elevations of , in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coast ...

California mixed evergreen forest : California mixed evergreen forest is a plant community found in the mountain ranges of California and southwestern Oregon. The Mixed evergreen forest plant community is native to the Northern and Southern California Coast Ranges and Sierra Ne ...

, and

Yellow pine forest Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the British Columbia to Durango, Mexico. In the south and east, ponderosa pine forest is the climax ...

habitats.

Description

''Pycnanthemum californicum'' is a perennial herb growing erect in height. It has hairless to fuzzy, aromatic herbage. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to nearly oval, each a few centimeters long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s are located in clusters about the stem just above each upper pair of leaves. Each flower has a whitish upper lip and a purplish lower lip, sometimes with spots. The bloom period is June through September.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Pycnanthemum californicum'' (Mountain mint, Sierra mint, California mint)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Pycnanthemum californicum''USDA Plants Profile for ''Pycnanthemum californicum'' (Sierra mint)UC Photos gallery of ''Pycnanthemum californicum'' (Sierra mint, Mountain mint)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13946214 californicum Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Plants described in 1855 Taxa named by John Torrey Flora without expected TNC conservation status