Agastache, is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of 9–12 species of perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 herbs in the family Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

, native to eastern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 (one species) and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 (the rest).

Most species are very upright, 0.5–3 m tall, with stiff, angular stems clothed in toothed-edged, lance shaped leaves ranging from 1–15 cm long and 0.5–11 cm broad depending on the species. Upright spikes of tubular, two-lipped flowers develop at the stem tips in summer. The flowers are usually white, pink, mauve, or purple, with the bracts that back the flowers being of the same or a slightly contrasting color. Leaf tips can be eaten and made into teas.

Species

• Agastache aurantiaca. Orange Hummingbird Mint. Mexico, SW USA (Arizona, New Mexico).
• Agastache breviflora. TransPecos giant hyssop. Northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora), SW USA (Arizona).
• Agastache cana. Texas Hummingbird Mint. (Wild Hyssop, Mosquito Plant, Mexican Hyssop), SW USA (New Mexico, Western Texas).
• Agastache cusickii
  Agastache cusickii
  Agastache cusickii is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Cusick's giant hyssop. It is native to the northwestern United States from eastern Oregon and central Nevada to Idaho and Montana....
  
  . Cusick's Giant Hyssop. NW USA.
• Agastache foeniculum
  Agastache foeniculum
  Agastache foeniculum , commonly called anise hyssop, is a species of perennial plant in the mint family,...
  
  . Giant or Anise Hyssop. From Arctic Canada to Colorado and Wisconsin.
• Agastache mexicana
  Agastache mexicana
  Agastache mexicana is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name Mexican giant hyssop. It is native to southern North America and can grow 50 to 60 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate or oval-lanceolate. The plant is perennial and self-fertile...
  
  . Mexican Giant Hyssop. Central Mexico.
• Agastache nepetoides. Eastern North America from southern Ontario and southern Quebec south to Georgia.
• Agastache pallida (syn. A. barberi). Northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora), southwestern USA (Arizona).
• Agastache pallidiflora. Southwestern USA (New Mexico, western Texas).
• Agastache pringlei. Northern Mexico (Chihuahua), southwestern USA (New Mexico).
• Agastache parvifolia
  Agastache parvifolia
  Agastache parvifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name small-leaf giant hyssop. It is endemic to far northern California, where it grows in woodlands. It is an uncommon species and is sometimes considered a local subspecies of Agastache urticifolia...
  
  . California.
• Agastache rugosa
  Agastache rugosa
  Agastache rugosa Agastache rugosa Agastache rugosa (Korean Mint, Blue Licorice, Purple Giant Hyssop, Huo xiang, Indian Mint, Patchouli Herb, Wrinkled Giant Hyssop; syn. Lophanthus rugosus Fisch...
  
  . Korean Mint. Southeastern Russia (Primoriye
  Primorsky Krai
  Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
  
  ), Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam.
• Agastache rupestris. Threadleaf giant hyssop or Licorice Mint. Arizona, New Mexico.
• Agastache scrophulariifolia. Eastern North America from southern Ontario south to Georgia.
• Agastache wrightii. Southwestern USA (Arizona, New Mexico).
• Agastache urticifolia
  Agastache urticifolia
  Agastache urticifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name nettle-leaf giant hyssop. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Colorado, where it grows in many habitat types...
  
  . Western North America from British Columbia south to California and Nevada.

Cultivation

They are easily grown in moist, well-drained soil and prefer a sunny position. Winter hardiness varies; the hardiest is A. foeniculum, hardy to USDA plant hardiness zone 1 in the north of its range; A. nepetoides, A. rugosa, A. scrophulariifolia and A. urticifolia are hardy to zones 3–5 in the northern parts of their ranges. Propagate from seed or cuttings. Popular cultivars include A. cana 'Heather Queen'.