WESTERN SPOTTED BEEBALM
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| File Size: 72 KB |
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Monarda punctata L. var. occidentalis (Epling ) Palmer & Steyermark
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| Reno County, Kansas |
| Annual or short-lived perennial |
| Height: 6-20 inches |
| Family: Lamiaceae - Mint Family |
| Flowering Period: June, July, August, September |
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| Also Called: | | Dotted beebalm, horse mint. | | Stems: | | Erect, branched, pubescent. | | Leaves: | | Opposite, narrowly oblong or elliptic to lanceolate, 4/5 to 2 inches long, 1/8 to 1/2 inch wide, surfaces dotted, sparsely pubescent; margins toothed to nearly entire, fringed; tips pointed; nearly sessile or stalks to 3/5 inch. | | Inflorescences: | | Spike, interrupted; flower heads 1-6, 3/5 to 1 inch wide excluding corollas; bracts subtending heads oblong, elliptic, or egg-shaped, .6 to 1.6 inch long, 1/4 to 3/5 inch wide, spreading or slightly bent downward, whitish or pinkish-purplish, finely-hairy above, variously pubescent to nearly glabrous below; margins usually toothed near tip; tips tapering to sharp points. | | Flowers: | | Each flower subtended by linear bract 1/6 to 1/3 inch long; calyx tubular, pubescent, stiff-hairy in throat, 5-toothed; teeth triangular, spreading, fringed; corolla 2-lipped, white to purplish; upper lip erect, sickle-shaped, strongly arched, helmut-like, hairy above; lower lip 2/5 to 4/5 inch long, often with dark purple spots, sparsely stiff-hairy at base; stamens 2, included under upper lip. | | Fruits: | | Nutlets 4, oblong or egg-shaped, smooth, brown, each 1-seeded. | | Habitat: | | Open sites, prairies, pastures, old fields, roadsides; dry, sandy soils. | | Distribution: | | West 2/3 of Kansas. | | Forage Value: | | Cattle will not graze this plant. | | Uses: | | Native Americans used spotted beebalm in treatments of fevers, colds, headaches, and stomach cramps. At one time, an antiseptic used to treat internal parasites was dervived from this plant. | | Comments: | | Spotted beebalm sometimes forms extensive stands. The tiny dots on the leaf surface secret a volatile oil. |
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| Western spotted beebalm bracts and flowers |  | | 68 KB | | Reno County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm inflorescences |  | | 109 KB | | Reno County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm leaves |  | | 91 KB | | Reno County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm flowers |  | | 60 KB | | Sandsage Bison Range, Finney County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm |  | | 155 KB | | Sandsage Bison Range, Finney County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm habit |  | | 211 KB | | Finney County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm habit |  | | 212 KB | | Finney County, Kansas |
| | Western spotted beebalm flowers |  | | 64 KB | | Finney County, Kansas |
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