Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

This slender herb grows in dry meadows and rocky clearings across North America. Its leaves contain high concentrations of pulegone, a chemical that repels hungry insects.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Lamiales

Family

Lamiaceae

Genus

Pycnanthemum

Species

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium