Blephilia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Lamiaceae
Subfamilia: Nepetoideae
Tribus: Mentheae
Subtribus: Menthinae
Genus: Blephilia
Overview of species: B. ciliata - B. hirsuta - B. subnuda

Name

Blephilia (L.) Raf., Amer. Monthly Mag. & Crit. Rev. 4: 190 (1819).

Type species: Blephilia ciliata (L.) Benth.

References
Additional references

Govaerts, R.H.A. 1996. World Checklist of Seed Plants, volume 2. MIM, Deurne. 492pp. In two parts. ISBN 90-572-0006-6. Reference page.
Govaerts, R.H.A. 2003. World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Database in ACCESS: 1-216203. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [unavailable for the public] Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Blephilia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 April 5. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Blephilia. Published online. Accessed: 5 April 2020.

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] Blephilia are most often found in open areas, glades, and mesic forests. All species of Blephilia are considered threatened or endangered in some states. [3] [4][5]

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.
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

"Blephilia". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
"Blephilia". County-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2013.
"Blephilia". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
"Blephilia". Native Plant Database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
Simmers, Richard W.; Kral, Robert (1992). "A NEW SPECIES OF BLEPHILIA (LAMIACEAE) FROM NORTHERN ALABAMA". Rhodora. 94 (877): 1–14. ISSN 0035-4902.