Flora Pittsburghensis

Category: Labiatae

  • Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

    Monarda fistulosa

    A native plant often grown as a garden perennial. It is listed as native in the USDA PLANTS Database throughout most of the eastern United States, but Gray (revised by Fernald) points out that it is often a garden escape. Our wild specimens of this plant in the Pittsburgh area are probably descended mostly from garden plants, but it is hard to tell anymore. These were blooming in a field deliberately maintained as a native-plant showcase in Robin Hill Park, Moon Township.

    Wild Bergamot
    Monarda fistulosa
    Wild Bergamot

    For a description of the species, see the Monarda fistulosa reference page.

    Monarda fistulosa
    Photographed July 16 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Spotted Henbit (Lamium maculatum)

    Lamium maculatum

    A popular garden groundcover frequently found in the wild around Pittsburgh. The forms around here usually have a white blotch in the middle of each leaf, which makes identification easy.

    Spotted Henbit

    There are many common names for this plant; Purple Dragon is another, and the flowers do look like little dragon heads if you have the kind of imagination that sees dragon heads in little purple flowers.

    Purple Dragon

    For Gray’s description of the species, see the Lamium maculatum reference page.

    Lamium maculatum
    Photographed July 18 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

    Melissa officinalis in profile

    Lemon Balm can be very weedy, but it is so useful that it is hard to resent as a weed. The lemony leaves make a good tisane, and the flowers are great favorites with bees. These plants were growing along a fence in Beechview.

    Melissa officinalis
    Flower of Lemon Balm
    Flower facing left

    For a description of the species, see the Melissa officinalis reference page.

    Melissa officinalis
    Photographed June 25 and july 4 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

    Photographed May 5 with a Fujifilm FinePix HS10

    Beautiful little flowers that nobody ever pays any attention to, because they weave all through our lawns. They have a minty scent when they are mowed over, and then they come back with more flowers in a few days.

    For a description of the species, see the Glechoma hederacea reference page.

  • Bugles (Ajuga reptans)

    Ajuga reptans
    Photographed May 2 with a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

    A European import prized as a groundcover, and now a thoroughly naturalized citizen of our flora. These were blooming in Bird Park, Mount Lebanon.

    For a description of the species, see the Ajuga reptans reference page.