Blephilia
Encyclopedia
Blephilia is a genus of three species of flowering plant
s in the family Lamiaceae
. They are all herbaceous
plants native to eastern North America
. The species are most often found in thin woods and in granite and limestone soils. Blephilia hirsuta and Blephilia ciliata are considered threatened or endangered in some states.
species; they spread by both seed
s and through stem division. Small purple flowers bloom on top of upper-leaf axils, often in several circular layers (hence the common name pagoda-plant). Leaves are bright green with whitish coloring underneath, pointed, lobed, and like all members of the mint family
occur in opposite pairs. The species in this genus vary in size, but generally grow to about 1-2 feet and form in clumps.
Species
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s 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...
. They are all herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
plants native to eastern 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 species are most often found in thin woods and in granite and limestone soils. Blephilia hirsuta and Blephilia ciliata are considered threatened or endangered in some states.
Appearance
The genus includes only perennialPerennial 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...
species; they spread by both seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s and through stem division. Small purple flowers bloom on top of upper-leaf axils, often in several circular layers (hence the common name pagoda-plant). Leaves are bright green with whitish coloring underneath, pointed, lobed, and like all members of the mint family
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...
occur in opposite pairs. The species in this genus vary in size, but generally grow to about 1-2 feet and form in clumps.
Species
- Blephilia ciliata (Downy pagoda-plant)
- Blephilia hirsuta (Hairy pagoda-plant)
- Blephilia subnuda (Cumberland pagoda-plant)