Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Schrader. Common name: Slender Mountain-mint. Phenology: Jun-Aug; Sep-Oct. Habitat: Bogs, wet meadows, moist to wet forests. Distribution: ME west to MN, KS, and OK, south to FL and TX.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: A diploid and tetraploid species (n = 20 and 40).
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, F, Fl6, GrPl, GW2, Il, K4, Mi, Mo3, NcTx, NE, NY, Pa, RAB, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WH3, Chambers & Hamer (1992); = Koellia flexuosa (Walter) MacMill. — S, misapplied; = Pycnanthemum flexuosum (Walter) Britton, Sterns, & Poggenb. — G, Tat, Grant & Epling (1943), misapplied. Basionym: Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Schrad. 1809
Show parent genus | Show parent in key(s)
Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
- Great Plains: FAC
- Midwest: FAC
- Northcentral & Northeast: FAC
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
Hover over a shape, letter, icon, or arrow on the map for definition or see the legend.












Feedback
See something wrong or missing on about Pycnanthemum tenuifolium? Let us know here: (Please include your name and email if at all complicated so we can clarify if needed.) We greatly appreciate feedback, and will include updates from you in our next webapp update, which can take a few months. If a species is not keyed, that's because keying is ongoing. Please don't send us feedback about unkeyed species.
Horticultural Information
Intro: Erect, rhizomatous perennial found in bogs, wet meadows and moist to wet forests and clearings.
Stems: Stems slender, 4-angled, bushy-branched, smooth.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, mostly sessile, linear, to 2 in. long, gland-dotted and with mint-like odor.
Inforescence:
Flowers: Flowers crowded in dense, branching, flat-topped heads with small, white, hairy bracts in addition to flowers; each flower white to pale pink, less than ¼ in. long, tubular opening to 2 spreading lips and with 2 purple anthers.
Fruits:
Comments:
Height: 1-2 1/2 ft.
plant sale text: Narrow-leaf mountain-mint is an easy-to-grow southeastern native perennial with delightfully scented foliage. Just brush your hand lightly across the leaves to release the fresh minty fragrance. Narrow-leaf mountain-mint produces copious amounts of nectar, attracting and feeding many beneficial insects. Its upright stems bearing many small white flowers add an unusual cool touch to the summer garden, and make an excellent filler for flower arrangements.
bloom table text: This plant is attractive to the eye as well as being a rich source of nectar to a multitude of insects and butterflies. The scientific name for the Mountain-mint comes from the greek, pyknos, meaning dense, and anthemon, a flower. It refers to the crowded clusters of flowers with small, leafy bracts immediately below them. Mountain-mints are erect, perennial, aromatic, herbaceous plants with rhizomes and branched or branchless, four-angled stems. These plants are often found in ordinary soil, neither excessively wet nor dry. They are planted in spring or early fall and will grow in sun or light shade. One can propagate the plant by division or seed.
description: Erect, rhizomatous perennial found in bogs, wet meadows and moist to wet forests and clearings.
stems: Stems slender, 4-angled, bushy-branched, smooth.
leaves: Leaves opposite, mostly sessile, linear, to 2 in. long, gland-dotted and with mint-like odor.
inflorescence:
flowers: Flowers crowded in dense, branching, flat-topped heads with small, white, hairy bracts in addition to flowers; each flower white to pale pink, less than ¼ in. long, tubular opening to 2 spreading lips and with 2 purple anthers.
fruits:
comments:
cultural notes:
germination code: 1
native range: eastern United States
0 unsaved edits on this page.