Jepson eFlora: Taxon page
Vascular Plants of California
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Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
MINT FAMILY


Lamiaceae (labiatae)
Habit: Annual to shrub [tree, vine], glabrous to hairy, generally aromatic. Stem: generally erect, generally 4-angled. Leaf: generally simple to deeply lobed, generally opposite, generally gland-dotted. Inflorescence: generally cymes, generally many in dense axillary clusters surrounding stem, generally separated by evident internodes or collectively crowded, spike- or panicle-like, occasionally head-like or raceme, subtended by leaves or bracts; flowers sessile or pedicelled. Flower: generally bisexual; calyx generally 5-lobed, radial to bilateral; corolla generally bilateral, 1--2-lipped, upper lip entire or 2-lobed, +- flat to hood-like, occasionally 0, lower lip generally 3-lobed; stamens generally 4, epipetalous, generally exserted, paired, pairs generally unequal, occasionally 2, staminodes 2 or 0; ovary superior, generally 4-lobed to base chambers 2, ovules 2 per chamber, style 1, generally arising from center at junction of lobes, stigmas generally 2. Fruit: generally 4 nutlets, generally ovoid to oblong, smooth.
Genera In Family: +- 230 genera, 7200 species: worldwide. Many cultivated for herbs, oils (Lavandula, lavender; Mentha, mint; Rosmarinus, rosemary; Thymus, thyme), some cultivated as ornamental (in California Cedronella, Leonotis, Monarda, Phlomis). Note: Moluccella laevis L., shell flower, historical waif in California. Satureja calamintha (L.) Scheele subsp. ascendens (Jordan) Briq. reported as alien but not naturalized. Salazaria moved to Scutellaria; California Hyptis moved to Condea, California Satureja moved to Clinopodium.
Jepson eFlora Author: Dieter H. Wilken & Margriet Wetherwax, family description, key to genera
Reference: Harley et al. 2004 Fam Gen Vasc Pl 7:167--275
Scientific Editor: Douglas H. Goldman, Bruce G. Baldwin.
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)
Key to Lamiaceae (Labiatae)

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Citation for this treatment: Dieter H. Wilken & Margriet Wetherwax, family description, key to genera 2013, Lamiaceae (Labiatae), in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, Revision 1, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=166, accessed on April 24, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 24, 2024.