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Dicerandra frutescens
Also called Scrub Mint
Scrub balm is a rare, aromatic mint-family subshrub about half a meter tall, endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge in Highlands County, Florida. It is federally listed as endangered and is grown mainly by specialist native-plant enthusiasts in sandy, well-drained conditions.
Dicerandra frutescens is a rare species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names scrub mint and scrub balm. It is endemic to Highlands County, Florida, where it is known only from the Lake Wales Ridge. Its habitat is quickly being lost as it is converted to residential and agricultural use. It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1985.
This shrub grows about half a meter tall from a deep taproot. It is glandular and strongly aromatic with a mint scent. The oblong leaves are roughly 2 centimeters long, smooth-edged, oppositely arranged, and dotted with visible oil glands. The inflorescence is a pair of flowers each roughly 1.5 centimeters long. The flower has a tubular throat and a lobed, lipped mouth. The corolla is white to light pink and dotted with darker pink on the lips.
Lake Wales balm · Longspur balm · Florida balm · Smoky Balm · Spotless balm · Coastal plain balm · Dicerandra modesta · Rose balm · Radford's balm · Dicerandra thinicola · Balm
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dicerandra frutescens by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
