Hyptis emoryi
Encyclopedia
Hyptis emoryi is a large, multi-stemmed shrub
species of flowering plant
in the Lamiaceae
. The genus Hyptis
is commonly known as the bushmints.
It is one of the favored plants of honeybees in early spring in the southwest deserts of North America
.
of Arizona
, Nevada
, California
, and northwestern Mexico in Sonora
and Baja California
.
It is a multi-stemmed shrub reaching 15–18 ft in optimum locations. It has violet-blue flowers up to 1 in, in leaf axils. The flowers are profuse along the main stem and side branches and is an aromatic
attractor of the honeybee and other species. Leaves are oval and a whitish gray-green-(in deserts), serrated margins, hairy, and 2-3 in. It is found in dry washes, and on rocky slopes, up to 3000 ft (900 m). It is evergreen or cold deciduous, depending on location.
In the "Creosote Bush
scrub" Yuma Desert
-(western Sonoran Desert) of southwest Arizona, it is found with the palo verde, Bebbia
, Encelia farinosa
, desert ironwood (Olneya tesota
), Lycium andersonii
(wolfberry or Anderson thornbush), Psorothamnus spinosus
(a type of smoke tree), and Acacia greggii
, as some common associated species of the washes, elevation dependent.
In Arizona, found from central to southwestern Arizona of the Sonoran Desert
; in northwest Arizona found in regions of the Mojave Desert. In southern California and Nevada, desert lavender is found in southern regions of the Mojave Desert
and the Colorado Desert
of southeast California.
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
species of flowering plant
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...
in the 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...
. The genus Hyptis
Hyptis
Hyptis is a genus of flowering plant in the Lamiaceae family. These plants, known commonly as bushmints, are widespread in the tropics and warmer temperate regions of the Americas...
is commonly known as the bushmints.
It is one of the favored plants of honeybees in early spring in the southwest deserts of 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...
.
Description
Desert lavender is a medium to tall cold tender perennial shrub found in the southwestern United StatesSouthwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and northwestern Mexico in Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
.
It is a multi-stemmed shrub reaching 15–18 ft in optimum locations. It has violet-blue flowers up to 1 in, in leaf axils. The flowers are profuse along the main stem and side branches and is an aromatic
Aroma compound
An aroma compound, also known as odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor...
attractor of the honeybee and other species. Leaves are oval and a whitish gray-green-(in deserts), serrated margins, hairy, and 2-3 in. It is found in dry washes, and on rocky slopes, up to 3000 ft (900 m). It is evergreen or cold deciduous, depending on location.
Distribution and habitat
It occurs mostly in areas with a water source; in the southwestern USA deserts it is commonly in the dry washes, intermixed with other species.In the "Creosote Bush
Creosote bush
Larrea tridentata is known as Creosote bush as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as "gobernadora" in Mexico, Spanish for "governess," due to its ability for inhibiting the growth of nearby plants to have more water. In Sonora, it is more commonly called "hediondilla." It is a flowering...
scrub" Yuma Desert
Yuma Desert
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It is in the Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of sand dunes. With an average rainfall less than 8 inches each...
-(western Sonoran Desert) of southwest Arizona, it is found with the palo verde, Bebbia
Bebbia
Bebbia is a genus of plants in the daisy family; it is often considered monotypic, but it is sometimes treated as a genus of two or more species if Bebbia juncea is divided. The common name of B. juncea is sweetbush. It is an aromatic shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico...
, Encelia farinosa
Encelia farinosa
Encelia farinosa, or Brittlebush, is a common desert shrub of northwestern Mexico through California and the southwestern United States. Its common name comes from the brittleness of its stems....
, desert ironwood (Olneya tesota
Olneya tesota
Olneya tesota is a perennial flowering tree of the Fabaceae family, legumes , which is commonly known as Ironwood or Desert Ironwood. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Olneya...
), Lycium andersonii
Lycium andersonii
Lycium andersonii is a perennial shrub of the family Solanaceae, the Nightshades. It is commonly known by such names as Anderson Thornbush, Anderson Wolfberry, Anderson Lycium, Anderson Desert Thorn, Anderson Boxthorn, and more ambiguously as "tomatillo", Desert Tomato or "wolf berry"...
(wolfberry or Anderson thornbush), Psorothamnus spinosus
Psorothamnus spinosus
Psorothamnus spinosus, known as the Smokethorn, Smoketree, Smoke tree, Indigobush, Smokethorn dalea, and Corona de Cristo, is a perennial legume tree common to the desert washes of the southern part of California, Arizona, and most of Baja California, including islands in the northern Sea of Cortez-...
(a type of smoke tree), and Acacia greggii
Acacia greggii
Acacia greggii is a species of Acacia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in...
, as some common associated species of the washes, elevation dependent.
In Arizona, found from central to southwestern Arizona of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
; in northwest Arizona found in regions of the Mojave Desert. In southern California and Nevada, desert lavender is found in southern regions of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
of southeast California.
External links
- Photo-stems & flowers; Article - desert-tropicals.com–"Desert Tropicals"
- http://www.delange.org/Lavender/Dsc00015.jpgPhoto: Rocky wash: w/BebbiaBebbiaBebbia is a genus of plants in the daisy family; it is often considered monotypic, but it is sometimes treated as a genus of two or more species if Bebbia juncea is divided. The common name of B. juncea is sweetbush. It is an aromatic shrub of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico...
-(dried), Brittlebush-in yellow bloom, and SaguaroSaguaroThe saguaro is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S...
on plain]; Article, Synopsis, and photo gallery - delange.org—"Arizona Wild Flowers"
