Wildflower Wednesday: Clinopodium arkansanum

I have a new wildflower that I'm excited to share with you. 

Courtesy of Illinois Wildflowers: Flowers two upper lobes and three lower lobes

It's common name is Limestone calamint and I already love it. It's just so darn cute.

katherinebaird source

A cute flowering plant with a lot to offer:

• It's a mint family member 
• It thrives in a neutral to slightly alkaline or limestone soil. 
• The leaves are fragrant, too. 
• Typical tubular lipped flowers that attract bees to the nectar and pollen
• Square stems and opposite leaves
  
• Mints spread, this one is a rhizomatous perennial 
• It forms a dense, low-growing foliage mat 
• The flowers are large for such a tiny plant
• It has upright, leafy flowering stems rising to 12” tall. 
• A pennyroyal-flavored tea can be made from them. 
  

 

my purchase

I remember walking through a patch of Clinopodium glabellum/Glade savory its lookalike cousin on a tour of a cedar glade and being charmed by the delightful minty fragrance that filled the air. It was so pleasant and fresh. I've wanted it for my garden ever since then. I saw this Clinopodium offered at the WildOnes fall sale and scooped it up. I might be able to make this sweetie pie happy and I'll get that minty fresh fragrance when I brush against it.

 

courtesy of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

 

According to MOBOT: it generally prefers moist soils with good drainage, but some plants do well in the drier soils found in limestone glades. Hmmm! I surmise that the favored cultural conditions might depend upon its provenance. I will have to keep an eye on it to make sure it gets settled in before I let it be. Hoping it's one of the ones happier in dry soil, but, I am committed to keeping it whether it needs frequent watering or not.  Have I mentioned that I love mint plants.

 

 

 

The Particulars

Botanical name: Clinopodium arkansanum

Family: Lamiaceae 

Common name: Limestone calamint

Taxonomic names over the years:  Calamintha arkansana Calamintha nuttallii, Clinopodium glabrum, Hedeoma arkansana, Hedeoma glabra, Satureja arkansana, Satureja glabella, Satureja glabra

Type: Herbaceous perennial 

Native Range: Central and eastern United States, Ontario. Occurs in four counties in Tennessee: Davidson, Cheatham, Dickson and Rutherford.

 Zone: 4 to 8 

Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet 

Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet 

Bloom Time: May through September (depending upon zone)

Bloom Description: White to light purple

Leaves: Initially grows rounded basal leaves, afterwards, the more typical narrow leaves grow out. Fragrant

 

Fruit: Nutlet

Sun: Full sun 

Water: Dry to medium

 Maintenance: Depends upon its provenance. If the place where it originated was a wetland it will need to be in wetter soil. But, plants found growing in the central Basin in Tennessee might be happier in dryer soils. Regardless, it does need well drained soil.

Flower: White, lavender or purplish in color. They form a two-lobed tube about half an inch long with the lower lip having three lobes, the upper two. The inflated tube is just the right size for a small bee to enter to facilitate pollination.

Attracts: Butterflies, bees to get the nectar and pollen.

Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Comments: Calamint would be a great choice for rock gardens, rock walls, and green roofs; it thrives in hot, dry sites or maybe, wet ones! See maintenance above egarding provenance. ! Low Calamint (Clinopodium arkansanum) has an unstable taxonomic history and many of  the small Clinopodiums have been confused for one another...Over the past 200 years this plant has had at least a dozen Latin names. The aroma is largely due to menthol. Early settlers used the plant to make tea and to repel insects.

Status:

Source

New plants are always exciting. I will keep you informed about this one. xoxogail

 

 

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. If you participate in WW, please leave a link.

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.