Subfamily

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

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

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

Description

Annual or perennial herbs, sometimes rhizomatous, usually aromatic, gland-dotted; leaves entire or toothed; inflorescence thyrsoid, forming a short, terminal capitulum; bracts forming an involucre, surrounding inflorescence, outer pair often leaf-like, inner usually broad, scarious and often conspicuously veined or coloured; bracteoles ?absent; calyx ą actinomorphic, 5-lobed (3/2), lobes subequal, triangular, tube cylindrical, longer than lobes, 10-15-nerved, sometimes accrescent, glabrous within throat; corolla purple, pink or white, 2-lipped, 5-lobed (2/3), lobes narrow, posterior lip erect, distinctly 2-lobed, anterior lip recurved, 3-lobed almost to base, 2/3 to 1/5 length of tube, tube straight; stamens 4, divergent, exserted, posterior pair usually shorter than anterior pair, filaments hairy or glabrous, thecae parallel to divergent or divaricate and then often confluent towards apex; disc symmetrical; nutlets oblong-ovoid, smooth. 2n = 42. About 30 species. Western United States to northern Mexico. Rocky or sandy areas, desert scrubs, sagebrush, chaparral, woodland or montane forests. Many species have restricted ranges with specialized soil conditions. Epling (1925) divided the genus into two subgenera: subg. Monardella (as subg. Pycnanthae) and subg. Macranthae Briq., based on relative length of corolla lobes and tube and on calyx length.

Distribution

Native to:

71 Western Canada
73 Northwestern U.S.A.
76 Southwestern U.S.A.
77 South-Central U.S.A.
79 Mexico

Synonyms

Madronella Greene, Leafl. Bot. Observ. Crit. 1: 168 (1906).

Publication

Monardella Benth., Lab. Gen. et Sp.: 331 (1834); Epling, Ann. Miss. Bot. Gard. 12: 1-106 (1925), rev.; Jokerst, in Hickman (ed.) The Jepson Manual of Higher Plants of California: 718-722 (1993), rev. reg..

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Species found in RBG Kew living collections

1980-998 Monardella macrantha A.Gray  OLBR  F ALP_H 04   : ALP_H 05   : ALP_N A6   : ALP_N A1 for ALP_H
1999-270 Monardella nana var. nana N SONS   154 0403   : 154 0405   : ALP_H 01   : ALP_H 03
1980-999 Monardella villosa Benth. subsp. neglecta (Greene) Epling N OLBR  F 154 0309   : ALP_H 03

Image resource

Š Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew