Genus of flowering plants
Blephilia, the pagoda plant or wood mint, is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to eastern North America.[1][2] Blephilia are most often found in open areas, glades, and mesic forests. All species of Blephilia are considered threatened or endangered in some states.
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The genus includes only perennial species that spread by both seeds and through stem division. Small white to purple-lavender flowers occur in inflorescences that cluster in the upper leaf axils, often in several circular layers (hence the common name pagoda-plant). Leaves are generally lanceolate to ovate and vary in shades of green. Leaves are either petiolate or subsessile (depending on the species).[5] Like many other members of the subtribe Menthinae, all parts of Blephilia are highly aromatic when crushed and have smells similar to menthol and spearmint.[citation needed]
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
- Blephilia woffordii Floden - Wofford's pagoda-plant - endemic to central Tennessee
References
