Contact Us |

Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum (Nutt.) Cooperr.

Lamiaceae

Location in our garden

Principal

Synonym

Koellia pilosa (Nutt.) Baill.

Pycnanthemum muticum var. pilosum (Nutt.) Hook.

Pycnanthemum pilosum Nutt.

Habitus

Herbaceous.  A clump-forming herbaceous perennial plant that typically grows 45-100 cm tall.

Part Used

  • Leaves
  • Flowers
  • Stem

Growing Requirements

  • Full Sunshine
  • Need Shade
  • Drought Resistant

Habitat

  • Forest
  • Rocky Areas
  • Shrublands
  • Terrestrial
Share
Download

Overview

Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum is native to the middle United States, most commonly ranging from Missouri to Indiana with outlying populations in Tennessee, Georgia and the East Coast. Its common names are derived from the mint fragrance emitted from the leaves. In the United States, it is called Hairy mountain mint or American mountain mint. Other than being used as a cut flower and dried flower, when dried its use is said to have medicinal effects which are commonly consumed as herbal tea.

Vernacular Names

No found data on this. Need further research.

Agroecology

Mountain mint is very easy to grow. It can be found on prairies, rocky slopes, outcrops, along railroad tracks, open woods, stream valleys and thickets. It will adapt to most soils, ranging from moist, rich soils to dry and sandy/rocky soils. As usual, growth and flowering will be much better in richer soils in full sun to part shade.

Morphology

  • Stem - straight form, many-branched stems are light green with abundant hairs.
  • Leaves - simple, lanceolate shape, entire margin, opposite arrangement leaves, the upper leaf surface is a grey-green with short hairs, while the underside is lighter in colour and more hairy. Leaves have 4 to 7 pairs of lateral veins, very aromatic when bruised.
  • Flowers - the small, two-lipped flower's corolla is white and dotted with small purple spots. The flat-topped flowers sit at the top of the stems.
  • Fruit - brown/copper in colour, egg shaped nutlets, each containing one seed. Lightly haired.

Cultivation

Generative propagation is by seed and vegetative propagation is by roots cutting.

Chemical Constituents

Essential oils such as Camphene, Sabinen, 1-Octen-3ol, Myrcene, 1.8-Cineol, Limonene, cis-Sabinene hydrate, Isomenthone, trans-Isopulegone, Thymol, α-Pinene, Myrtenol, Pulegone, Carvacrol, Caryophyllene, Germacrene, Bicyclogermacrene, Spathulenol, Caryophyllene oxide, Isopinocamphone, Hexyl butyrate, and many others.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

It is used as a tonic, analgesic, to treat fever, digestive disorders and irregular menstruation.

Part Used

Reference Sources

  1. Flower Database. (No date). Pycnanthemum pilosum. Pycnanthemum pilosum | Pycnanthemum pilosum | Flower Database (flower-db.com). 27-10-2023.
  2. Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. (2023). Plants of the World Online: Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum (Nutt.) Cooperr. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:923751-1. 27-10-2023.
  3. Kovtun-Vodyanytska, S., Levchuk, I., Rakhmetov, D., Golubets, O., Kostetska, K., & Levon, V. (2023). Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric characteristics of essential oils of plants of the genus Pycnanthemum (Lamiaceae) and peculiarities of their application in practice. Studia Biologica, 17(2), 95–108. doi:10.30970/sbi.1702.711. (PDF) Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric characteristics of essential oils of plants of the genus Pycnanthemum (Lamiaceae) and peculiarities of their application in practice (researchgate.net). 27-10-2023.
  4. Missouri Botanical Garden. (No date). Pycnanthemum pilosum. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=281501. 27-10-2023.
  5. North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (No date). Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pycnanthemum-verticillatum-var-pilosum/. 27-10-2023.