Agastache foeniculum (Pursh) Kuntze
giant-hyssop (blue giant hyssop)
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
giant-hyssop (blue giant hyssop)
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a creeping rhizome; stems erect, 50-100 cm tall, little branched, glabrous, except hairy in inflorescence, 4-angled.
Leaves:
Opposite, egg-shaped, tips pointed, margins coarsely toothed, lower surfaces whitish with minute appressed hairs.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an interrupted terminal spike; corollas tubular, blue, longer than calyx; calyces violet or bluish, 6-12 mm long, 15-veined, hairy, teeth 1-2 mm long; stamens 4, exserted, the upper pair curved downward and crossing lower 2.
Fruits:
Nutlets, 4 clustered together, oblong, about 2 mm long, brown, small hairs at tip.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic open forests and clearings in the montane zone; rare in C and E BC; N to NT, E to ON and S to DE and CO.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Agastache anethiodora (Nutt.) Britton
Taxonomic Keys
1. Calyces to 7 mm long; teeth to 2 mm long; leaves densely white-hairy beneath.............................A. foeniculum
1. Calyces to 10 mm long; teeth to 5 mm long; leaves glabrous or sparsely soft-hairy beneath.....................................A. urticifolia Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |