For Your Garden - August 2016

Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.

common mountain mint  (Pycnanthemum virginianum)

Common mountain mint grows in fens, marshes and prairies throughout Illinois, although it is more frequently found in the northern one-half of the state. It blooms from July through September. The flowers are white, small and produced in clusters at the stem tip. Only a few flowers bloom in each cluster at one time. Leaves are narrow, smooth and without teeth along the edge. Like all mints, it has a square stem. This plant grows one and one-half to two feet in height. It attracts a variety of pollinators.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae