North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Blephilia ciliata

Blephilia ciliata (L.) Benth.

downy woodmint, downy pagoda-plant

Image ID: 12364
Image by: Cressler, Alan M.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: BLCI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Blephilia ciliata
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-11-25

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: BLEPH5
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Blephilia
GENUS AUTHORITY: Raf.
GENUS COMMON: Pagoda-plant
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 3 species, herbs, of e. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Simmers & Kral (1992)=Z; Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: LAMIAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Lamiaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Lindley 1836 or LABIATAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Mint Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 230-250 genera and 6700-7170 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, cosmopolitan. The placement in the Lamiaceae of several genera traditionally placed in Verbenaceae (e.g. Clerodendrum) is strongly supported by several lines of evidence.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect, rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial of woodlands, meadows and forests, usually in circumneutral soils (over diabase, limestone, shell, etc.).
STEMS: Stems 4-angled, mostly unbranched, covered in white hairs pressed against the stem.
LEAVES: Leaves opposite, petiolate (sessile above), oval to lance-shaped, to 3 1/2 in. long, shallowly toothed or entire, sparsely hairy above and whitish-downy beneath, fragrant when crushed.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers in several dense, head-like clusters that are tiered along a terminal spike, each cluster resting on a whorl of green, fringed bracts; flowers pale pink to lavender, about 1/3 in. long, bilaterally symmetric and tubular, split into 2 flaring lips, the upper one narrow and the lower 3-lobed and speckled with purple. The calyx is tubular and hairy, and there are 2 long-protruding stamens.
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 1-2.5 ft. (Spread 1-1.5 ft.)

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Bilateral (Zygomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: May-August

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
			x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Pale pink to lavender

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
		x				x	x	x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug-Oct.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Dry forests, Outcrops and glades, Woods margins
NATIVE RANGE: eastern & central U.S.

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Downy wood mint is a clump forming perennial that produces tight clusters of blue-purple, stacked flowers, similar in appearance to those of its mint family relative Monarda. Native to much of the eastern US, this species spreads slowly in the garden by means of rhizomes, but never becomes aggressive. Deer resistant and drought tolerant, downy wood mint complements almost any garden setting as long as it receives greater than 20% of sunlight per day and the soil it is planted in drains well. This species is commonly visited by several species of native bees, and butterflies.

Bloom Table Text: Downy wood mint is a clump forming perennial that produces tight clusters of blue-purple, stacked flowers, similar in appearance to those of its mint family relative Monarda. Native to much of the eastern US, this species spreads slowly in the garden by means of rhizomes, but never becomes aggressive. Deer resistant and drought tolerant, downy wood mint complements almost any garden setting as long as it receives greater than 20% of sunlight per day and the soil it is planted in drains well. This species is commonly visited by several species of native bees, and butterflies.

NCBG Location: Piedmont Habitat, Totten planters

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE: 2
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
15	HORT		Poythress	View
79	HORT	2011-07-11	Poythress	View
2521	HORT	2021-07-20	Boyette	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
13	2013-0024	2013-11-27	15	View
4154	1992-0310			View
5678	1995-0802			View
9411	2021-0073	2021-06-29		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
99	13	21	Liloia	2013-11-07	View
6482	4154	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
8192	5678	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
12724	9411	146	Wenck	2021-05-03	View
13982	0	81	Briggs	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: BLCI
USDA Common Name: Downy Pagoda-plant
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV), CAN (ON)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Blephilia ciliata
COMMON NAME: Downy Woodmint
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, G, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, Z]
PHENOLOGY: May-early Jul; Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Woodlands, meadows, forests, usually in circumneutral soils (over diabase, limestone, shell, etc.).
COMMENTS: MA and WI south to c. GA and AR.
RANGE MAP: Blephilia ciliata.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Lamiaceae Lindley 1836 or LABIATAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Mint Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 230-250 genera and 6700-7170 species, herbs, shrubs, vines, and trees, cosmopolitan. The placement in the Lamiaceae of several genera traditionally placed in Verbenaceae (e.g. Clerodendrum) is strongly supported by several lines of evidence.
REFERENCE: Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Blephilia Raf. (Pagoda-plant)
SUMMARY: A genus of 3 species, herbs, of e. North America.
REFERENCE: Simmers & Kral (1992)=Z; Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Blephilia ciliata in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Blephilia ciliata in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Blephilia ciliata in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Blephilia ciliata in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Blephilia ciliata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Blephilia ciliata

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 12364 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 21961 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 12364 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 10443 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)