Aromatic herbs or low shrubs with square stems.
Flower arranged in whorls, bilateral symmetry. Petals 4 or 5, fused, with 2 lips. Stamens 2 or 4.
Leaves opposite, often aromatic.

Deciduous forests, disturbed sites, fields

Flowers deep blue to violet, tubular, 2‑lipped (lower lip longer than upper), 1 cm long. Sepals same colour as petals, hairy. Flowers open sequentially along 1 to several dense terminal spikes 2.5–15 cm long. Flowers may appear interrupted; bloom July through September.
Leaves up to 10 cm long, coarsely toothed, grey-green above, densely white-felted beneath, strong licorice scent when bruised.
Stems square, lightly hairy, smell like licorice.

agastache-foeniculum_britton-and-brown

Agastache foeniculum_Britton and Brown

Agastache foeniculum_Lindsay NB_20140710_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Agastache foeniculum

Flowers blue to purple, 1.3-2 cm long, tightly clustered in erect, leafy spikes. Flowers with very short upper lip, wide notched lower lip, 4 stamens of unequal length. Fruit capsules.
Leaves smooth or nearly so, oval to spoon‑shaped, 1.3–6 cm long, often purplish. Lower leaves long-stalked.
Stems are generally smooth; when present the hairs occur on opposite sides of each internode. Low-growing, plants spreading by creeping runners and forming dense mats.
Native to Europe.

olympus-digital-camera-1247

Ajuga-reptans_Lake-Utopia-NB2_20190703_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Ajuga-reptans_Goat-Lake-Road-NS_20190604_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Ajuga-reptans_Lake-Utopia-NB1_20190703_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Ajuga reptans

Disturbed sites, fields, forest edges, open forests, roadsides

Flowers pink-purple to white, 12-15 mm long, tubular with protruding lower lip and small arched upper lip. Flowers numerous, in dense round whorls, 2-4 cm in diameter, at the stem tip and in axils of a few of the upper leaf pairs. Sepals 9-10 mm long, densely hairy, bristle tipped, fused at base to form a tube; few or no hairs inside the tube. Stamens 4. Each flower supported by a linear to narrow pointed bracts about as long as sepals and with stiff hairs.
Leaves egg-shaped to broadly rounded, up to 4 cm long, 0.7-1.5 cm wide, finely hairy on both surfaces, broadly rounded to heart-shaped at base, blunt‑tipped, edges smooth or with a few small rounded teeth, short-stalked.
Stems square, upright, occasionally branched, densely hairy, with long spreading hairs, often growing in clumps from short stolons. Plants faintly aromatic when crushed.

clinopodium-vulgare_belleville-nb2_20150709_sean-blaney-accdc

Clinopodium vulgare_Belleville NB2_20150709_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare-fls_Fairmont NS_20140724_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_Taxis R5_2024_Burke Korol ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_Taxis R4_2024_Burke Korol ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_SW Mabou R NS_20090721_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_Fairmont NS_20140724_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_Taxis R8_2024_Burke Korol ACCDC

Clinopodium vulgare_Currie Mountain NB3_20150822_Jim Goltz

Clinopodium vulgare_Britton and Brown

Clinopodium vulgare

Smooth, longer than wide and with rounded ends; seeds 1-4

Fields, roadsides, waste areas, often in recent clearings in rocky to gravelly calcium-rich soils

Flowers blue to pink, each barely longer that the sepals, with short lips; in densely crowded spikes, 2-10 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm thick, at the top of the stem. Sepals mostly 10 mm or more long, fused at base to form a tube with 15 raised veins on the outside, conspicuously cross‑veined between these. Sepals with hairs on main veins and edges, otherwise nearly hairless, except for a small hairy bulge in the notch between the lobes; upper sepal lobe notched, wider than the lower 4. Bracts 1-3 cm long, unstalked, often with long, spine‑tipped teeth, nearly hiding flowers.
Leaves light to medium green, coarsely toothed, broadly lance-shaped, 2.4-8 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, tapering at base to a slender stalk.
Stems erect, square, hairy, usually branched.
Native Quebec-British Columbia and Asia, introduced in New Brunswick.

dracocephalum-parviflorum_britton-and-brown

Dracocephalum parviflorum_Britton and Brown

Dracocephalum parviflorum

Flowers pale blue to purple, 4-7 mm long, 2-lipped, tubular, hairy around the lips; in dense, narrow, one-sided spikes, 2-7 cm long, at the top of the stem. Upper lip hooded, lower lip with 3 lobes. Floral tube markedly longer than the sepal lobes. Sepals 3.2 mm long, fused at base to form an urn-shaped tube with hairs inside, lobes lance-shaped and tapering to a sharp point. Stamens 4, protruding out from the flower tube, with the pollen-producing structure spreading outward from the stalk. Bracts round to kidney-shaped, 3 mm long, overlapping, with a fringe of hairs along edges and a narrow sharp point at tip; each bract supporting 2-3 flowers..
Leaves oval, egg- to lance-shaped, 3-9 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, glandular beneath, toothed, tapering to the base, tip pointed. Stalks 5–35 mm long.
Stems square, hairy, with no rhizomes.
Native to Asia, potential to become invasive outside its native range.

elsholtzia-ciliata_britton-and-brown

Elsholtzia ciliata_Britton and Brown

Elsholtzia ciliata

Disturbed sites, fields, gardens, roadsides

Flowers pink to spotted purple, 13-15 mm long; middle lobe of lower lip distinctly notched at tip, usually with 2 yellow or white spots near its base. Spiny teeth at tips of sepal lobes.
Leaves hairy, coarsely toothed, tapering at base, stalked.
Stems erect, square, swollen at the nodes, often with many branches; long, rigid, bristly, spreading to somewhat downward pointing hairs together with tiny glandular hairs.
Native to Eurasia.

galeopsis-bifida_minto-nb8_20240802_jim-goltz

Galeopsis bifida_Minto NB8_20240802_Jim Goltz

Galeopsis bifida-fl_Fredericksburg NB_20250724_Jim Goltz

Galeopsis bifida_Minto NB5_20240802_Jim Goltz

Galeopsis bifida_Bolton Lake 10_2023_Burke Korol ACCDC

Galeopsis bifida_Bolton Lake 6_2023_Burke Korol ACCDC

Galeopsis bifida-fruit_Crow Hill NB1_20250922_Jim Goltz

Galeopsis bifida_Minto NB6_20240802_Jim Goltz

Galeopsis bifida

Flowers deep pink, fused, 15–28 mm long; middle lobe of lower lip squarish, with 2 yellowish‑tipped knobs near its base. Flowers in whorls in axils of leaves. Sepals spiny-tipped.
Leaves lance‑ovate to narrowly linear, 15–30 mm long, edges smooth to obscurely toothed; both surfaces hairy.
Stems squarish, erect, often branched, with tiny soft, curved or curled hairs and tiny, glandular hairs.
Native to Eurasia.

galeopsis-ladanum_britton-and-brown

Galeopsis ladanum_Britton and Brown

Galeopsis ladanum

Flowers tubular, 15-23 mm long, usually white, sometimes pink-purple, unstalked; upper lip wide, middle lobe of lower lip squarish, flat, not notched at tip, with 2 yellow‑spots near its base. Flowers in dense, hemispheric whorls at top of plant and in leaf axils. Sepals with sharp spiny tips.
Leaves opposite, ovate to lance-shaped, coarsely toothed, upper surface often hairy.
Stems square, erect, bristly-hairy, swollen just below the leaf nodes; often multi-branched.
Native to Eurasia.

galeopsis-tetrahit_petitcodiac-east-nb2_20170908_sean-blaney-accdc

Galeopsis tetrahit_Petitcodiac East NB2_20170908_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Galeopsis tetrahit_Fundy NP NB_20180915_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Galeopsis-tetrahit_Meat-Cove-NS1_20180828_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Galeopsis tetrahit_Petitcodiac East NB1_20170908_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Galeopsis-tetrahit_North-Branch-Charlo-River-NB_20180824_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Galeopsis tetrahit_Britton and Brown

Galeopsis tetrahit

Disturbed sites, fields, lawns, roadsides

glechoma-hederacea_fredericton-nb_20240528_jim-goltz

Glechoma hederacea_Fredericton NB_20240528_Jim Goltz

Glechoma-hederacea_Wolfville-Ridge-NS_20190604_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Glechoma hederacea

Fields, gravelly soil, ledges, rocky woodlands

Flowers light blue, 3mm long; petals fused to form a 2-lipped floral tube. Sepals form a toothed tube with 13 strong ribs and long, fine hairs inside.
Leaves oval to lance-shaped, shallowly toothed; larger leaves stalked.
Stems squarish, upright, slender, branched, hairy.

hedeoma-pulegioides_britton-and-brown

Hedeoma pulegioides_Britton and Brown

Hedeoma pulegioides_Mary Young

Hedeoma pulegioides

Abandoned homesteads, disturbed sites, fields, gardens, roadsides

Flowers white (rarely pink) in dense whorls in upper leaf axils. Individual flowers tubular and curved at base, with 2 lips toward tips. Upper lip arching, its outer surface densely covered with long hairs, a ring of backward pointing hairs inside the flower tube 4-5 mm from its base. Lower lip with large deeply notched middle lobe and 2 smaller side lobes; each side lobe with 2-3 teeth. Sepals fused to form a tube at base, but tips of sepals remaining separate as lobes; lobes distinctly longer than the tubular portion and bristle-like at tips. Pollen-producing portion of stamens hairy; pollen light yellow.
Leaves all stalked, coarsely toothed, triangular to lance-shaped or oval, gradually tapering to a long pointed tip. No white blotches on leaves.
Stems square, hairy, running along ground at base and curving upright toward top, usually not branched; with rhizomes.
Native to Eurasia.

lamium-album_britton-and-brown

Lamium album_Britton and Brown

Lamium album

Oval with 4 grayish-brown, speckled nutlets clustered together, 3-angled, tips squared-off

Flowers red or purple, 12-18 mm long in whorls in axils of the leaves that are clasping and unstalked. Whorls are well-spaced; lowest may be below the middle of the stem. Flowers with long, straight tubes; tubes often purple-spotted, smooth inside and hairy outside, strongly 2-lipped. Upper lip erect, oval, hood-like, hairy, 3-5 mm long; lower lip notched, with spotted middle lobe; side lobes very small, each with a short tooth. Sepals 5-8 mm long, fused at base to form a 5-veined tube, tips remaining separate as narrow, hairy lobes about the length of the tube with forward-pointing tips(not spreading away from flower tube). Occasional plants produce small, unopened flowers. Fruit oval with 4 grayish-brown, speckled nutlets.
Leaves rounded to egg- or heart-shaped, 1-2 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, edges coarsely blunt-toothed or with small lobes, upper surface hairy. Lower leaves long-stalked; upper leaves smaller, unstalked and clasping.
Stems 4-angled, slender, weak, often reclining on the ground with tips ascending, generally branched from base, smooth to inconspicuously hairy.  Plants with short taproot.
Native to Eurasia and North Africa.

lamium-amplexicaule_britton-and-brown

Lamium amplexicaule_Britton and Brown

Lamium amplexicaule

Surrounded by sepals; roughly triangular with 4 seeds (1 per nutlet)

Abandoned homesteads, disturbed sites, forest edges

Flowers in whorls of 4-10 at top of lant and leaf axils in upper half of the stem. Individual flowers 1.9-2.5 cm long, light lemon yellow with brown marks, irregular with 2 lips at the end of a straight tube up to 1 cm long. Upper lip broad, rounded like a hood, densely covered in short hairs and fringed with longer hairs all around the edge. Lower lip with 3 spreading lobes, all about the same size, the center lobe somewhat triangular, pointed, streaked with darker orange-yellow. Inside the tube are a ring of hairs, and 2 short and 2 long stamens, the long ones arching inside the upper lip. Pollen producing portion of the stamen with no hairs. The tube formed by fusion of the sepals surrounds base of the flower; tube is hairy, about as long as the floral tube, with 5 sharply pointed triangular lobes. Sepals persist and hold 4 nutlets.
Leaves 2.5-8.9 cm long, up to 6.4 cm wide, hairy, coarsely toothed with rounded or pointed teeth, generally egg-shaped, base straight across to heart-shaped, tip blunt to pointed. Leaf stalk up to about 2.5 cm long, hairy. Upper surface either all green or variegated with silvery white spots; lower surface green or purple.
Stems erect, square, green to purplish, hairy especially along the angles and lower stem. Horizontal stems (stolons) numerous, leafy and root at nodes, forming dense mats. Stolons can grow 3 feet a year.
Native to Europe and western Asia. Shade-tolerant ground cover in gardens, can be invasive.

lamium-galeobdolon_moncton-nb3_20210530_sean-blaney-accdc

Lamium galeobdolon_Moncton NB3_20210530_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lamium galeobdolon_Moncton NB4_20210530_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lamium galeobdolon_Beardsley Hill NR NB_20220709_Burke Korol ACCDC

Lamium galeobdolon-patch_Moncton NB_20210530_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lamium galeobdolon_Moncton NB2_20210530_Sean Blaney ACCDCJPG

Lamium galeobdolon

Nutlets, 4 clustered together, 3-angled, tips squared-off

Rarely introduced to disturbed sites and fields from gardens

A species of hybrid origin, very similar to and formerly included in L. purpureum, one of its ancestral parents.
Flowers pink-purple, 10-15 mm long, tubular, with 2 lips, occurring in whorls in axils of small leaves at ends of branches. Flowers longer than sepals, inside of flower tube with no hairs or only a faint ring of hairs near the base; upper lip hood-like, 2-4 mm long. Sepals fused at base to form a bell-shaped tube, 5-6 mm long. Sepal tips remaining separate as slender, firm, unequal lobes that are somewhat spreading, about as long as the tube, and hairy. Fruit capsule-like nutlets.
Leaves opposite, egg-shaped to almost round, 1-5 cm long, blunt at tip, heart-shaped at base, margins toothed with rounded to somewhat sharp teeth; the leaves more deeply and irregularly toothed, and more often doubly toothed, than L. purpureum; leaves all stalked, the stalks 1-3 cm long. Upper leaves often with a wing extending from the base of the blade onto the stalk.
Stems branched from the base, reclining, inconspicuously hairy, 10-40 cm long, often somewhat purple tinted, 4-angled.
Annual herb from a short taproot; native to Europe and northwestern Africa.
&nbsp;

Lamium hybridum

Disturbed sites, forest edges, lawns, railroads, roadsides; usually gravelly or sandy soil

Large flowers pink to brown-purple or rarely white; tube curved upward, upper lip hairy.
Leaves 1-8 cm long, 1-7 cm wide, toothed with white blotches; terminal tooth usually blunt. Leaf stalks 15-30 mm.
Stem square, hairy.

lamium-maculatum_fredericton-nb_20250725-1_jim-goltz

Lamium maculatum_Fredericton NB_20250725-1_Jim Goltz

Lamium maculatum_Fredericton NB_20250725-5_Jim Goltz

Lamium maculatum_Fredericton NB_20250725-3_Jim Goltz

Lamium maculatum-bud_Fredericton NB_20250725_Jim Goltz

Lamium maculatum_Fredericton NB_20250725-4_Jim Goltz

Lamium maculatum

Flowers red or purple, 9-18 mm long, in whorls toward top of stem and its branches in axils of crowded, short-stalked, purple-tinged leaves that curve downward toward the tips. Flowers with a long straight tube, often purple-spotted, hairy outside, with or without a ring of hairs inside near the base. Upper lip hood-like, 2-4 mm long; lower lip has a pinched look and is notched. Sepals shorter than petals, hairy, fused at base to form a bell-shaped tube, 5-6 mm long; tips remaining as separate slender, firm, unequal, lobes, about as long as the tube and spreading outward from basal tube of petals. Fruit capsule-like nutlets.
Leaves egg-shaped to almost round, 1-5 cm long, tip blunt, base heart-shaped, edges toothed with rounded to somewhat sharp teeth. Lower leaves 1.25-3.75 cm long, rounded, long-stalked, shallowly toothed; upper leaves smaller, short-stalked.
Stems 4-angled, weak, branched from base, reclining, inconspicuously hairy, often somewhat purple tinted. Plant from a short taproot.
Native to Eurasia.
&nbsp;

Lamium purpureum

Abandoned homesteads, fields, forest edges

Flowers pink-lilac, 12 mm long, tubular with 2 lips, densely hairy, unstalked. Flowers in dense whorls in leaf axils. Sepals persist through winter; the fruit rests inside the spiny sepals.
Leaf blade with 3-5 distinct lobes with pointed tips. Leaves 5-10 cm long at bottom of plant, diminishing in size towards the top of plant; lobes and teeth also becoming less deep.
Stems stiff, squarish, hollow, variously hairy, aromatic when crushed.
Native to Eurasia.

olympus-digital-camera-1267

Leonurus-cardiaca_Hatfield-Point-5_2023_Burke-Korol-ACCDC

Leonurus-cardiaca_Hatfield-Point-3_2023_Burke-Korol-ACCDC

Leonurus-cardiaca_Hatfield-Point-2_2023_Burke-Korol-ACCDC

Leonurus-cardiaca_Hatfield-Point-1_2023_Burke-Korol-ACCDC

Leonurus cardiaca_Britton and Brown

Leonurus cardiaca

Lake and river shores, marshes, seeps, wetland edges

Flowers unstalked, in tight clusters in leaf axils; open from bottom of plant first. Petals white with pink spots on inside, 1.8–4.4 mm long, fused to a tube with 4 lobes at top. Sepals green, 2-3.3 mm long; with lobes 1-2 mm long, longer than nutlets, gradually tapering to a narrow firm sharp point, making flower clusters appear prickly
Leaves 3-8 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, stalked, lobes deepest on lower leaves, sharply toothed toward tips. Upper surface of leaves usually smooth, sometimes slightly rough; short (0.1-0.5 mm) hairs on underside of leaves.
Stems squarish, often solitary, may branch at top. Stems densely hairy at nodes with no flowers, but smooth between; occasionally some hairs at base of stem.

lycopus-americanus_kiltarlity-ns_20120725_sean-blaney-accdc

Lycopus americanus_Kiltarlity NS_20120725_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Robertson Pt NB1_2090726_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Shampers Bluff NB4_20240625_Burke Korol ACCDC

Lycopus-americanus_Lake-Utopia-NB1_20190702_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Up Blackville NB_20070814_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Hueson Bk area Loch Alva NB_20240822_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Robertson Pt NB2_2090726_Sean Blaney ACCDC

Lycopus americanus_Britton and Brown

Lycopus americanus

Flowers white with pink spots, tubular with 4 lobes at top, unstalked, in leaf axils. Sepals 3-4.5 mm long, lobes 1.5-2.8 mm long, gradually tapering to a firm sharp point, making flower clusters appear prickly.
Lower surface of leaves with hairs 0.5-1.6 mm long. Upper surface of leaves with at least some short straight hairs that are pressed tightly against the leaf surface.
Native to Eurasia.

lycopus-europaeus-fls_grown-out-from_st-chrysostome-pe-accdc-sean-blaney-2020-09-05

Lycopus europaeus-fls_grown out from_St Chrysostome PE ACCDC Sean Blaney 2020-09-05

Lycopus europaeus_Fredericton NB_20241001-2_Jim Goltz

Lycopus-europaeus_Aroostook-NB2_20190822_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Lycopus europaeus-fr_Fredericton NB_20241001-3_Jim Goltz

Lycopus-europaeus_Aroostook-NB1_20190822_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Lycopus europaeus_Fredericton NB_20240816-3_Jim Goltz

Lycopus-europaeus-lf-under_Grand-Falls-NB7_20180731_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Lycopus europaeus_Fredericton NB_20241001-1_Jim Goltz

Lycopus-europaeus-stem_Grand-Falls-NB5_20180731_Colin-Chapman-ACCDC

Lycopus europaeus_Fredericton NB_20240816-1_Jim Goltz

Lycopus europaeus

Lake and river shores, marshes, seepage areas, swamps, wet forests, wetland edges; in MI often growing with or near L. americanus.

Flowers white, 3 mm long, tubular, crowded in whorls in upper leaf axils. Petals fused, top with 5 flared lobes. Sepals fused into a tubular structure, top with 5 triangular lobes; each lobe less than 1 mm long and less than twice as long as wide.
Leaves lance-shaped, coarsely toothed, not lobed, short stalked, few or no hairs.
Stems square, few or no hairs. Stolons develop tubers which flower the following year. Leaves and stem fragrant when crushed.

Lamiaceae

Mint Family