Page authors: Don Knoke, David Giblin
Mentha pulegium
pennyroyal
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California; also scattered in eastern North America.

Habitat: Moist, disturbed areas.

Flowers: July-October

Origin: Introduced from Europe

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Bumblebees, bees, butterflies

Description:
General:

Strongly aromatic, perennial herbs from creeping rhizomes, the square stems prostrate to ascending, pubescent, 2-6 dm. tall.

Leaves:

Leaves opposite, all cauline, petiolate, densely soft-pubescent, oval, nearly entire, small, with only 2-3 lateral veins.

Flowers:

Flowers in compact verticels in the axils of the deflexed upper leaves, which barely surpass the flower clusters, the verticels well separated; calyx pubescent, 2.5-3 mm. long, regular, 5-lobed, the 2 lower lobes narrower, 10-nerved; corolla nearly regular, four-lobed, with a short tube, lilac, 4-7 mm. long; stamens 4, equal, exerted; style 2-parted; ovary 2-celled, superior.

Fruits:

Nutlets 4

Accepted Name:
Mentha pulegium L.
Publication: Species Plantarum 2: 577. 1753.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
(none provided)
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Mentha pulegium in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Mentha pulegium checklist entry

OregonFlora: Mentha pulegium information

E-Flora BC: Mentha pulegium atlas page

CalPhotos: Mentha pulegium photos

14 photographs:
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