Downy wood mint
Latin Name: Blephilia ciliata
USDA Hardiness: 4-7
Native Range: NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada, Ontario (south), United States, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts (west), Michigan (south), New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (southeast), Missouri, Oklahoma (east), Wisconsin (south), Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,
Edibility Rating: 3 / 5
Medicinal Rating: 1 / 5
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Plant Type:
Medicinal Uses
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves | Edible Uses: Leaves. Minty leaves eaten raw and used in teas. The leaves can be used to prepare sauces and drinks [1-4].
Cultivation
A Short-Lived fast-growing herbaceous perennial with an upright form. It prefers full sun to semi-shade and a loamy, silty soil with a pH 6 to 8. Downy wood mint has some drought tolerance but dislikes waterlogged soils or flooding. It is sensitive to salt, soil compaction. Flowers are fragrant. Soil can contain loam, clay, gravel and limestone. A high pH is tolerated but will restrict growth. It has a greater tolerance to drought than other mint species. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread [1-2]. Root type is fibrous and shallow. Flowering time: June to August (Northern Hemisphere).
Known Hazards
None Known
Habitats
Indigenous to dry open woods, prairies, savannas, limestone bluffs, glades, barrens, clearings, fields, steep slopes, disturbed sites and roadsides. Plants often occur in thin soils over limestone.