Agastache urticifolia

Horse mint

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Horse mint is a California native perennial found in northern coastal ranges, Cascade Range, northern and central Sierra Nevada foothills, Sierra Nevada, southern coastal ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, Warner Mountains, and northern eastern Sierra Nevada in woodland and diverse habitats at elevations of 400 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers in dense, elongated clusters that attract pollinators. Growing with erect stems 30 to 90 centimeters tall, it forms clumps with multiple branching stems. Its leaves are ovate to lance-shaped, arranged oppositely along the stem, with serrated edges and a distinctive minty fragrance when crushed. The fruit consists of small nutlets that help the plant disperse its seeds across its wide mountain and woodland range.

Habitat: Common. Generally woodland, but many habitats

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 400-3000 m

Bioregions: NCoR, CaR, n&ampc SNF, SNH, SCoRO, SnBr, Wrn, n SNE

California counties: Lake, Nevada, Mariposa, San Luis Obispo, Madera, Tuolumne, Trinity, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Mendocino, Plumas, Tulare, Sonoma, Tehama, Fresno, Lassen, Modoc, Alpine, Mono, Kern, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Shasta, Inyo, Butte, San Bernardino, Glenn, Placer, Colusa, Humboldt, Calaveras, Napa, Amador, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.