Description: This native perennial plant is 1-3' tall
and unbranched or sparingly branched. The central stem is 4-angled and covered
with long white hairs. The opposite leaves are up to 3½" long and
1½" across. They are ovate or lanceolate-ovate and serrated along the
margins. The lower surface of each leaf is more or less pubescent, while the
upper surface has scattered appressed hairs. The petioles are about 1" long and
covered with spreading hairs. The central stem (and any major side stems)
terminates in several whorls of flowers. The whorls of flowers occur above the
axils of the upper leaves, or they may occur above pairs of leafy bracts. The
flowers in each whorl are densely crowded together. Each flower is up to
½" long, consisting of a tubular calyx with 5 teeth, a 2-lipped corolla,
2 exerted stamens, and a slender style that is divided at its tip. The calyx is
light green and exceedingly hairy along the margins of its teeth; the upper
teeth are longer than the lower teeth. The corolla is light purple or white and
has purple dots on the lower lip; the outer surface of this corolla is
pubescent. The lower lip is divided into 3 lobes, while the upper lip functions
as a protective hood. The blooming period occurs during the summer and lasts
about 1½ months. Each flower is replaced by 4 ovoid nutlets. The root
system consists of a taproot.
Cultivation: The preference is partial sun to light
shade, moist to mesic conditions, and a rich loamy soil with leaf mould. This
species also grows in soil that is somewhat rocky.
Range & Habitat: Hairy Wood Mint occurs
occasionally throughout Illinois (see
Distribution
Map). Habitats include mesic deciduous woodlands, areas along woodland
paths, woodland borders, limestone glades, and thickets. Minor disturbance is
desirable if it removes excessive shade from the overhead canopy.
Faunal Associations: The flowers are pollinated
primarily by long-tongued bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, Little
Carpenter bees, Mason bees, Leaf-Cutting bees, Cuckoo bees (Epeoline), Miner
bees, and Anthophorid bees. Other visitors of the flowers include Halictid
bees, wasps, bee flies, Thick-Headed flies, Syrphid flies, butterflies, and
skippers. These insects seek nectar primarily, although some of the Halictid
bees collect pollen and some flies feed on the pollen. The foliage probably
isn't attractive to mammalian herbivores as a food source.
Photographic Location: Along a woodland path at
Busey Woods in Urbana, Illinois.
Comments: This is another member of the Mint family
with pairs of opposite leaves and relatively small tubular flowers. It has
unusually hairy stems and the dense hairy whorls of flowers are rather
conspicuous. These dense whorls of flowers distinguish the genus
Blephilia from many other members of the Mint family. The only other
member of this genus that occurs in Illinois is Blephilia ciliata (Downy
Wood Mint). Downy Wood Mint has leaves that are sessile (or nearly so) and its
stems are finely pubescent. Hairy Wood Mint, on the other hand, has leaves with
slender petioles and its stems have spreading white hairs that are quite long.
Downy Wood Mint prefers habitats that are somewhat sunnier and drier; it is
sometimes found in prairies and savannas.