Mountain monardella

Monardella odoratissima, the mountain monardella or mountain coyote-mint, is a strongly aromatic perennial herb or subshrub in the Lamiaceae family, native to mountainous regions of western North America from British Columbia south through the Sierra Nevada and Rockies to California, Nevada and Colorado. The plant arises from a woody base producing a dense cluster of erect, square stems 15 to 50 centimetres tall, typically clothed in short, fine pubescence and exuding a pungent minty fragrance when brushed. The opposite leaves are lanceolate to ovate, 1 to 3 centimetres long, with entire to slightly toothed margins, sometimes gland-dotted and often greyish-green or tinged with purple. The inflorescences are showy, dense, terminal head-like clusters 2 to 4 centimetres across, subtended by a whorl of broad, papery, often purplish involucral bracts. The numerous small tubular flowers within each head are pale lavender to deep rose-purple or occasionally white, two-lipped, and crowded together to give the appearance of a single composite blossom. Flowering occurs from early summer through autumn.