Hoary Mountain Mint - Pycnanthemum incanum
Hoary Mountain Mint - Pycnanthemum incanum
Note: SCD does not ship plants, all orders are pick up only.
Pycnanthemum incanum, with the common name hoary mountainmint, "mountain mint", wild basil or hoary basil, is a herbaceous perennial in the mint family.
This stiff, erect, clump-forming mint has whitened leaves subtending the flower clusters. The minty-smelling plants are 2-6 ft. tall and have terminal flower clusters composed of numerous, small, two-lipped corollas varying from whitish to lavender, with purple spots. Flowers are in dense rounded clusters in leaf axils or atop a hairy square stem and branches; white bracts beneath flowers.
The genus name derives from the Greek for "dense" and "flower" and aptly describes the crowded flower clusters. The many species are closely related and difficult to distinguish from one another. These plants, particularly the flower clusters, have a very strong odor when crushed.
Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Nut
Size Notes: Up to about 6 feet tall.
Fruit: Nutlets.
Water Use: Low , Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist
Soil pH: Acidic (pH<6.8)
Soil Description: Mesic to dry, rich soils