User:Botanyclass/Hairy Wood Mint

Hairy Wood Mint Blephilia hirsuta Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivsion: Seed plants Division: Magnoliophyta (dicots) Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiaceae Family: Lamiaceae Genus: Blephilia Raf. Species: Blephilia hirsute (pursh) Benth. Relevant subspecies: Blephilia hirsute (pursh) Benth. Var. glabrata Fernald Blephilia hirsute (pursh) Benth.Var. hirsute

• Physical Description Hairy wood mint is a perennial plant that is normally 1-4' tall. The central stem is covered with long white hairs and end in several whorls of flowers (Hilty 2011). The flowers, which can be either light blue, pale purple to white with purple spots. Each flower is ½" long,, light green sepals (Simmers RW, Kral. 1992) a 2-lipped petals which are either light purple or white with purple spots, 2 exerted stamens, and a style that is divided at its tip. Hairy Wood mint has a very short growing period in which it only blooms in the summer for roughly a month and a half (Hilty 2011).

The leaves of Hairy Wood mint are very long but also thin which become wider near the base of the leaf. The petioles are roughly 1-3 cm and are covered with little hairs (V Max Brown, 2010). Out of al the plants in this genus the Blephilia hurstia have the largest leaves (Simmers RW, Kral. 1992). This plant has the root type called a taproot system (Hilty 2011). • Habitat As shown in this map Hairy wood mint occurs in eastern North America and it prefers rich moist soil in hard wood forests, along the streams and rivers, in limestone glades, thickets also been seen around occasionally around wetlands (Hilty 2011). Hairy wood mint likes partial, sunny and/or light shade. A rich moist soil with leaf mould can also grow in a slightly rocky soil. If there is only a minor disturbance that removes shade from the canopy to allow some sunlight in then this is the most preferred situation (Hilty 2011). • Range The areas from the map that are in Canada are Ontario and Quebec. There are many habitats in United States but a few places are Connecticut, Indiana, West Virginia, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. The range is fairly huge covering the eastern part of North America. • Importance to Humans Though there is no direct consumption by humans is actually known, but it is often within gardens for its beauty. When the leaves are crushed or damaged it then gives off a mint scent. • Importance to Ecosystem Many different types of bees pollinate the flowers of the Hairy wood mint (Hilty 2011). A few types of bees are the honeybees, Mason bees, and the Miner bees. Bees aren’t the only animals that can pollinate the hairy wood mint there are other insects that can be used. There are bee flies, Syrphid flies, butterflies, skippers and many others. Many of these pollinators pollinate the Hairy wood mint because they get an award such as the nectar and sometimes the pollen itself. This plant is not attractive to mammalian herbivores as a food source (Hilty 2011). Redwoods forests are common to have hairy wood mint and feed many insects. • Conservation Over most of the range Blephilia hirsuta is a secure species but in a few states it is of concern. This is a rare species in some areas, but exact needs for management are not known. Areas the hairy wood mint needs to grow, such as mature woodlands with moist soil, are often being clear cut or damaged; preservation of these areas is necessary for the conservation of this plant. In Connecticut it is a special concern that should be looked into before its too late, Massachusetts Hairy wood mint is already an endangered species and in Vermont it is threatened.

• References Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online]. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?448745 Brown, V. Max. 2010 [Online] http://www.florabymax.net/ Hilty 2011 [online] http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/hairy_mint.htm United Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA) http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BLHI Nature Serve. 2010 [online]. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?sourceTemplate=tabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=species_RptComprehensive.wmt&selectedReport=RptComprehensive.wmt&summaryView=tabular_report.wmt&elKey=157638&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=157638&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&post_processes=&radiobutton=radiobutton&selectedIndexes=157638&selectedIndexes=128632&selectedIndexes=133475 Poudel, B., Laney, A. G., and Tzanetakis, I. E. First Report of Cucumber mosaic virus Infecting Blephilia hirsuta in North America .B. Poudel, A. G. Laney, and I. E. Tzanetakis. American Phytopathological Society. August 2010, Volume 94, Number 8, Pg 1070 Simmers, R.W.; Kral, R.W. A new species of Blephilia (Lamiaceae) from Northern Alabama. 1992 . Volume 94. Pg 1-14. Strand Jay. Upper White River Integrated Resource Project, Final Environmental Assessment. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. September 2010.