Blephilia

Blephilia, the pagoda plant or wood mint, is a genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to eastern North America.[1][2] The species are most often found in thin woods and in granite and limestone soils. Blephilia hirsuta and Blephilia ciliata are considered threatened or endangered in some states. [3] [4]

Blephilia
Downy pagoda-plant (Blephilia ciliata)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Mentheae
Genus: Blephilia
(L.) Raf.

Appearance

The genus includes only perennial species; they spread by both seeds and through stem division. Small purple flowers bloom on top of upper-leaf axils, often in several circular layers (hence the common name pagoda-plant). Leaves are bright green with whitish coloring underneath, pointed, lobed, and like all members of the mint family occur in opposite pairs. The species in this genus vary in size, but generally grow to about 1–2 feet and form in clumps.[4]

Species
  • Blephilia ciliata (L.) Benth. – downy pagoda-plant – widespread from Texas and Florida north to Quebec and Ontario
  • Blephilia hirsuta (Pursh) Benth. – hairy pagoda-plant – widespread from Texas and Georgia north to Quebec and Ontario
  • Blephilia subnuda Simmers & Kral – Cumberland pagoda-plant – endemic to northeastern Alabama

References
  1. "Blephilia". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. "Blephilia". County-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2013.
  3. "Blephilia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  4. "Blephilia". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
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