| Description | Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) A clump-forming plant that spreads slowly by rhizomes. The white flowers will be covered with pollinators in the late summer and fall |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (pik-NAN-thee-mum) |
| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Wild Flowers |
| Hardiness Zone | (5b)6-8 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average, moist |
| Soil & Site | average, rich, moist, "Habitats include moist to slightly dry black soil prairies, moist meadows and gravelly areas along rivers, openings in woodlands, moist thickets, acid gravel seeps, limestone glades, and abandoned fields." (#153) |
| Flowers | rounded clusters, white to lavender, tubular two-lipped flowers, leaf-like subtending bracts |
| Fruit | tiny black nutlets |
| Leaves | narrow gray-green, minty fragrance when crushed |
| Stems | clumps of slowly spreading rhizomes branched, square, hairless, minty fragrance when crushed |
| Dimensions | 2-3 by 1-2 feet (HS) |
| Propagation | division, seeds |
| Misc Facts | Genus name comes from Greek pyknos meaning dense and anthos meaning flower for its densely packed flowers. The genus name refers to the narrow leaves. AKA: Narrowleaf Mountain Mint, Slender Mountain Mint, Common Horsemint, Narrow-leaved mountain mint SYN: Koellia flexuosa |
| Author's Notes | The couple of times I have seen this plant in late summer and early fall, they were being visited by a bazillion pollinators. They were friendly pollinators that did not pay any attention to me. |
| Notes & Reference | #56-Tall Grass Prairie Wildflowers (Doug Ladd), #144-Missouri Botanical Gardens web site (www.missouribotanicalgarden.org), #153-Illinois Wild Flower (www.illinoiswildflowers.info), #203-North Creek Nursery (www.northcreeknurseries.com) |
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