Lamiaceae
Mint Family
Horsemint
Monarda fistulosa L.
- Stem: perennial; 2’ to 4’ tall; unbranched; smooth.
- Leaves: opposite; oval with rounded bases and long-tapering sharp tips; 2 1/2” by 1”; leaf stalks 1/2” long; margins sharply toothed; smooth above and below.
- Inflorescence: flowers grouped into heads above leafy bracts at the stem tips and the ends of branches from the upper leaf axils.
- Flowers: corolla purple, tubular, 5/8” long, two-lipped, the upper covering the stamens and style, the lower recurved; calyx is narrow with marginal teeth, 1/4” long; flowering from early July to early August.
- Fruits: four nutlets, 1/32” in diameter; enclosed by the persistent calyx; fruiting begins in late July.
- Habitat: common on upland to moist prairies; also on dry prairies, on Loess Hills prairies, on roadsides, and in open woods.
- Notes: Upon ripening, nutlets (“seeds”) readily fall from the flowers when inverted.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
