Subfamily

VII. Subfam. Nepetoideae (Dumort.) Luerss. (1882).

VII. 2. Tribe Mentheae Dumort. (1827).

VII. 2. B. Subtribe Menthinae (Dumort.) Endl. (1838).

Description

Perennial herbs, with horizontal rhizomes or runners, sometimes tuberiferous, weakly or not aromatic, with simple hairs; leaves opposite, petiolate or sessile, ovate to lanceolate or linear, variously toothed or pinnatifid; inflorescence of tight, axillary verticillasters; flowers sessile to subsessile; calyx actinomorphic to weakly zygomorphic, not accrescent, tubular-campanulate to campanulate, 4-5-nerved, 4-5-lobed, lobes ± equal, ovate to lanceolate-subulate or aristate, throat glabrous; corolla white, usually weakly zygomorphic, occasionally ± actinomorphic or 2-lipped, lobes usually 4, posterior and sometimes anterior lobe larger than lateral ones, all entire or posterior lobe bifid, tube straight; stamens 2 (posterior pair reduced to staminodes or absent), exserted or included, filaments glabrous, thecae parallel to divergent, separate at dehiscence; style often expanded near base to form flange covering top of ovary; stigma-lobes equal or unequal; disc symmetrical; nutlets obovoid-tetrahedral, often with conspicuously toothed to tuberculate apical crest, glabrous, inner and upper faces often densely glandular. 2n = 22.  About 14 species of wet habitats, mostly in the north-temperate zone (one species in Australia).

Distribution

Native to:

10 Northern Europe
11 Middle Europe
12 Southwestern Europe
13 Southeastern Europe
14 Eastern Europe
20 Northern Africa
21 Macaronesia
30 Siberia
31 Russian Far East
32 Middle Asia
33 Caucasus
34 Western Asia
36 China
38 Eastern Asia
40 Indian Subcontinent
41 Indo-China
50 Australia
70 Subarctic America
71 Western Canada
72 Eastern Canada
73 Northwestern U.S.A.
74 North-Central U.S.A.
75 Northeastern U.S.A.
76 Southwestern U.S.A.
77 South-Central U.S.A.
78 Southeastern U.S.A.

Introduced:

51 New Zealand

Synonyms

Phytosalpinx Lunell, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 5: 2 (1917), nom. illeg.
Euhemus Raf., Autik. Bot.: 115 (1840).

Publication

Lycopus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 21 (1753); L., Gen. Pl. ed. 5: 12 (1754); Henderson, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 68: 95-138 (1962), rev.

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Species found in RBG Kew living collections

1992-1417 Lycopus europaeus L. N AARH  F 310 5 

Image resource

© Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew