Monardella hypoleuca

Monardella hypoleuca
File:Monardella hypoleuca ssp lanata 1.jpg
ssp. lanata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Monardella
Species:	M. hypoleuca
Binomial name
Monardella hypoleuca A.Gray

Monardella hypoleuca is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common name thickleaf monardella. It is native to the southern half of California, where it grows in the coastal hills and mountain ranges in local habitat including chaparral and woodland. Its range may extend into Baja California.

Description

Monardella hypoleuca is a perennial herb producing an erect, purple stem coated in short hairs. The green, lance-shaped to oval leaves are oppositely arranged about the stem and have woolly white undersides. The inflorescence is a head of several flowers blooming in a cup of woolly-haired purplish bracts 2 to 4 centimeters wide. The flowers are roughly 1.5 centimeters long and white or purple-tinged.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies of this plant; the more rare, Monardella hypoleuca ssp. lanata, the feltleaf monardella, grows in the chaparral of the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, and in San Diego County in the United States, and probably neighboring Baja California.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment - Monardella hypoleuca
• USDA Plants Profile
• Monardella hypoleuca - Photo gallery