Lepechinia cardiophylla
Encyclopedia
Lepechinia cardiophylla is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mint family
known by the common names Santa Ana pitcher sage and heart-leaved pitcher sage. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges
- the Santa Ana Mountains
of Southern California
and the coastal mountains of northern Baja California
.
Few populations of the plant are known and many of them are located in areas that are threatened by development and other human activity.
with branching stems covered in resin glands. The hairy, glandular leaves are heart-shaped to oval-shaped and often toothed along the edges. The raceme
inflorescence
bears flowers on prominent pedicels
. Each flower is a cuplike calyx of glandular sepal
s around a tubular white to lavender corolla. The corolla is curled back at the mouth into small lips. The fruit is a dark colored, hairless body a few millimeters long which develops within the calyx of sepals.
Lamiaceae
The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...
known by the common names Santa Ana pitcher sage and heart-leaved pitcher sage. It is native to the Peninsular Ranges
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
- the Santa Ana Mountains
Santa Ana Mountains
The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 36 mi southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.- Geography :The range starts in the...
of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and the coastal mountains of northern Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
.
Few populations of the plant are known and many of them are located in areas that are threatened by development and other human activity.
Description
Lepechinia cardiophylla is an aromatic shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
with branching stems covered in resin glands. The hairy, glandular leaves are heart-shaped to oval-shaped and often toothed along the edges. The raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
bears flowers on prominent pedicels
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
. Each flower is a cuplike calyx of glandular sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s around a tubular white to lavender corolla. The corolla is curled back at the mouth into small lips. The fruit is a dark colored, hairless body a few millimeters long which develops within the calyx of sepals.