Haichow Elsholtzia is a fall-blooming in the mint family, with dense, one-sided spikes of pinkish-purple flowers. It is native to Korea and China and is not known to grow wild in the United States. In China it grows so readily on copper-mine land that it is called "copper grass," and it was reported as a sign of copper deposits in the 1950s.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A perennial herb about 2 ft (60 cm) tall, with square stems that grow in clumps and branch a lot.
- Leaves
- Opposite, egg-shaped, pointed leaves 0.4–2.8 in (1–7 cm) long with toothed edges. The whole plant is strongly aromatic.
- Flowers
- Tiny pinkish-purple flowers crowd into spikes 0.8–2 in (2–5 cm) long, all facing one side. Purplish, kidney-shaped sit under the flowers, and two long stamens stick out.
- Flowering time
- September–October in Korea.
- Fruit
- Many small seeds ripen in November.
Look-alikes
Crested Elsholtzia is an annual with pale lavender flowers. Haichow Elsholtzia is a perennial with deeper pinkish-purple flowers and purplish bracts.
Why they get mixed upBoth are fragrant fall bloomers in the same genus with one-sided flower spikes, and Crested Elsholtzia has become established in parts of North America.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Hillsides
- Mountain slopes and fields
- Range
- Native to Korea and China, including Manchuria and copper-mining areas of southern China. It is not a native plant of the United States.
Name and classification
- About the name
- The English name "Haichow Elsholtzia" comes from Elsholtzia haichowensis, an older name now treated as the same species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Because it tolerates copper and builds it up in its shoots, it is studied as a plant for cleaning up copper-polluted soil.
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.