American Pennyroyal

(Hedeoma pulegioides)

 

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of W.S. Justice, Smithsonian Instituion

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides)

Identification: Flowers pale violet or pale blue. Corolla with 3 nearly identical lower lobes and a fused, bilobed petal lobe above. Calyx with 2 long teeth on the lower side and 3 short teeth above. Flowers in small clusters in the leaf axils up and down the stem. Foliage very aromatic, soft, and hairy. Leaves elongate, slightly triangular, with coarse, irregular teeth, particularly toward the leaf apex. Plant 6 to 18 feet in height.

Distribution: Throughout eastern North America.

Habitat: American Pennyroyal is a species of dry fields and soils.

Flowering Period: July to September.

American Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides)

Similar Species: 

The presence of flowers in leaf axil clusters up and down most of the stem, the soft, fuzzy texture of the foliage, and the strong odor should identify this species.

Similar Species

No Similar Species