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Elsholtzia ciliata
Also called Crested Late Summer Mint, Ciliate Elsholtzia, Crested Elsholtzia
Elsholtzia ciliata is an annual herb in the mint family, native to Asia and grown as an ornamental or culinary herb. It thrives in moist soil and open, sunny spots, and can become invasive in some regions.
Elsholtzia ciliata, commonly known as Vietnamese balm, comb mint, xiang ru (香薷) or kinh giới in Vietnamese, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae native to Asia. In the US, it is commonly known as crested late summer mint. In US Vietnamese grocery stores, it is called kinh gioi, Vietnamese lemon balm, or Vietnamese lemon mint.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It prefers moist soil, and grows mostly on exposed rocky slopes and other open, gravelly areas.
It is banned in the state of Connecticut and is classified as a noxious weed. It was first reported in the Americas in 1889.
The plant is native to Asia. However, the exact extent of its original range is unclear.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Elsholtzia ciliata 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.
