Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: Ohio horsemint
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Native Range: Eastern United States
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 2.50 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: May to August
Bloom Description: Blue, purple
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Drought, Dry Soil
Culture
Best grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Blephilia ciliata, commonly called Ohio horsemint, is a Missouri native perennial which occurs in dryish open woods and thickets, clearings, fields and roadsides in the eastern 2/3 of the State. A clump-forming, mint family member that features mostly unbranched, square stems which rise to 30" tall. Blue-purple, two-lipped flowers appear in late spring to mid-summer in several tiered, whorled, globular clusters in an interrupted terminal spike, with each cluster being subtended by (resting upon) a whorl of fringed bracts. Similar in appearance to the closely related monardas. Lanceolate stem leaves are sessile, lightly-toothed, whitish-downy below and mildly fragrant when crushed. Leaves are usually considered to be lacking in the pungency and quality needed for use as a culinary herb. Small basal leaves and shoots remain green throughout the winter.
Genus name comes from the Greek blepharis meaning an eyelash for the bracts being fringed by hairs.
Problems
Susceptible to powdery mildew. Foliage is often nibbled on by insects and plants can become rather tattered and unkempt by late summer.
Uses
Best in wild, native plant or open woodland gardens.