North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Lycopus americanus

Lycopus americanus Muhl. ex W.P.C. Barton

american bugleweed, american water horehound

Synonym(s): Lycopus americanus var. longii, Lycopus americanus var. scabrifolius, Lycopus sinuatus

Image ID: 15514
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: LYAM
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lycopus americanus
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-01-24

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: LYCOP4
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Lycopus
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Waterhorehound
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 10-14 species, herbs, of temperate Eurasia, North America, and Australia.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Sorrie (1997)=Z; Henderson (1962)=Y; Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004). Key adapted from Z.

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 to leaning, rhizomatous perennial of freshwater tidal marshes, floodplain forests and alluvial swamps, sandy/gravelly bars and shores.
STEMS: Stems 4-angled and ridged, simple or extensively branched, smooth or sparingly hairy.
LEAVES: Leaves opposite, petiolate, lance- to elliptic-lance-shaped, 1 1/4-3 in. long, deeply toothed (less so in upper leaves), minutely hairy on veins beneath.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers in small, axillary heads. Each flower white, less than Â¼ in. long, short-tubular and opening to 4 spreading lobes. The light green, tubular, 5-lobed calyx is shorter than the corolla, and there are 2 protruding stamens.
FRUITS: Fruit a set of 4 nutlets forming a square inside the persistent calyx; calyx lobes exceed the nutlets.
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 1-3 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Opposite
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Bilateral (Zygomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Jun-Nov

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

BLOOM COLOR: White

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

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Aquatic, Bottomlands
NATIVE RANGE: North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
4644	1992-0800			View
4818	1994-0023			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
6973	4644	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7211	4818	86	NCBG staff	1994-08-01	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: LYAM
USDA Common Name: American Water Horehound
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY), CAN (AB, BC, MB, NB, NF, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	OBL	OBL	OBL		OBL	OBL		OBL	OBL	OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lycopus americanus
COMMON NAME: American Bugleweed
SYNONYMY: [= C, GW, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, WH3, WV, Y, Z; > L. americanus var. americanus - F, G; > L. americanus var. longii Benner - F, G; > L. americanus var. scabrifolius Fernald - F]
PHENOLOGY: Jun-Nov.
HABITAT: Marshes, bottomlands.
COMMENTS: NL (Newfoundland) west to BC, south to FL Panhandle and CA. See comment under L. europaeus about hybridization between L. americanus and L. europaeus.
RANGE MAP: Lycopus americanus.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)
Lycopus L. (Waterhorehound)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 10-14 species, herbs, of temperate Eurasia, North America, and Australia.
REFERENCE: Sorrie (1997)=Z; Henderson (1962)=Y; Harley et al. in Kadereit (2004). Key adapted from Z.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

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

WEB RESOURCES

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

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 15514 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 15514 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 0 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)