Pycnanthemum incanum

Hoary Mountainmint
Pycnanthemum incanum var. incanum[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Pycnanthemum
Species: P. incanum
Binomial name
Pycnanthemum incanum
(L.) Michx.
Synonyms[2]
  • Clinopodium incanum L.
  • Koellia incana (L.) Kuntze.
  • Origanum punctatum Poir.
  • Pycnanthemum incanum var. loomisii Fernald
  • Pycnanthemum puberulum E.Grant & Epling

Pycnanthemum incanum (Hoary Mountainmint, "mountain mint", Wild Basil, Hoary Basil) is a herbaceous perennial in the mint family, widespread across eastern United States and Ontario.[2][3] It is listed as an endangered species in Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as in Ontario, where there are only two remaining populations located within a single stretch of oak savanna in Burlington. There is currently a recovery strategy in place organized by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to monitor these last populations.

It grows to 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) high by 4 feet wide. The stems are covered with a soft, whitish down. White blooms appear from July to September. Pycnanthemum means "dense flower-clusters" in Greek, and the flowers are favored by butterflies, moths, and some species of wasps. A vigorous and often aggressive grower, this plant spreads by long rhizomes. It prefers rocky, gravelly or sandy soil, and typically grows in woods, thickets, fields, and hills, presumably the origin of its common name of Mountainmint.

Varieties[2]
  1. Pycnanthemum incanum var. incanum - Ontario, eastern US
  2. Pycnanthemum incanum var. puberulum (E.Grant & Epling) Fernald - West Virginia, Alabama, North + South Carolina

Uses

When crushed, the leaves emit a strong minty aroma, and are often used to flavor teas.

Medicinal use

This species contains tannin and is considered to be an astringent.

The Choctaw put the mashed leaves in warm water, which the patient drank, and which was poured over the head to relieve headaches. For patients who were sickly all the time, the leaves were mashed in water, the doctor took a mouthful of water, and blew it onto the patient, three times on the head, three times on the back, and three times on the chest. Before the next sunrise, the patient was bathed in the medicine.

The Koasati mashed the leaves in water, and used the water to treat laziness. The patient bathed his face in the cold water and drank it. For nosebleeds, the plant was wetted, and put up into the nostrils to stop the bleed. The roots were boiled along with Black Willow, and drunk to relieve headache.

It is considered to be a food source for large mammals, as well.

References

  1. ↑ illustration from Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 3: 144.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map