76 articles
Marrubium vulgare
Marrubium vulgare, white horehound (Marrubii herba), a Lamiaceae perennial herb native from Europe to the Himalaya, used traditionally as an expectorant, for dyspepsia, and for appetite loss; EMA traditional-use monograph, major diterpene marrubiin, invasive weed in Australia.
Mentha
Mentha (mint) is a genus of aromatic Lamiaceae herbs, first published by Linnaeus in 1753, with a cosmopolitan native range and about 26 accepted species. Spearmint and peppermint are its main cultivated hybrids; hybridization, polyploidy, and chromosome numbers of 24–120 make its taxonomy notoriously difficult.
Mentha aquatica
Mentha aquatica (water mint), Lamiaceae perennial wetland herb native to Africa, Europe, and W. Asia; IUCN Least Concern; parent of peppermint (Mentha × piperita) with M. spicata; aromatic, rhizomatous, marsh plant.
Mentha canadensis
Mentha canadensis (薄荷, bo he), Canada mint, American wild mint, Japanese mint, or corn mint: a perennial Lamiaceae herb native from Siberia to East Asia and North America, source of cornmint oil rich in menthol (28–47%), with 74 synonyms and disputed species versus subspecies rank.
Mentha longifolia
Mentha longifolia, horsemint or wild mint (欧薄荷), a perennial Lamiaceae herb from Macaronesia to South Africa; variable pulegone/piperitenone oxide essential oil, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, traditional medicinal uses.
Mentha pulegium
Mentha pulegium, pennyroyal or European pennyroyal, is a perennial mint (Lamiaceae) native to Europe and the Mediterranean, with pulegone-rich toxic essential oil, grown as a herb and invasive in California wetlands.
Monarda
Monarda (beebalm, bee balm, wild bergamot, horsemint) is a North American genus of about 25 aromatic mint-family (Lamiaceae) perennials, published by Linnaeus in 1753, grown ornamentally and known for Oswego tea and susceptibility to powdery mildew.
Ocimum
Ocimum (basil genus), Lamiaceae mint family, pantropical aromatic herbs and shrubs named by Linnaeus in 1753; about 65 species mostly African, including sweet basil (O. basilicum) and holy basil (O. tenuiflorum), valued for terpenoid and phenylpropanoid essential oils.
Ocimum gratissimum
Ocimum gratissimum (clove basil, African basil, ram/Vana tulsi) is a Lamiaceae aromatic shrub of the Old World tropics, grown for eugenol- or thymol-rich essential oil with multiple chemotypes, used in food, medicine, ritual, and as an insect repellent.
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Ocimum tenuiflorum, holy basil or tulsi (तुलसी), synonym Ocimum sanctum, is a Lamiaceae perennial herb native to tropical Asia, sacred in Hinduism, rich in eugenol and ursolic acid, and studied in stress and metabolic clinical trials.
Oregano
Oregano, chiefly Origanum vulgare (wild marjoram), a Lamiaceae perennial herb of the Mediterranean; flavor from carvacrol and thymol; Mexican oregano is Lippia graveolens; world trade exceeds 15,000 tonnes.
Origanum
Origanum is a Lamiaceae genus of about 40-44 aromatic species native from Macaronesia and Europe to Central China, 90% Mediterranean. Includes oregano (O. vulgare, cymyl/carvacrol chemotype) and sweet marjoram (O. majorana, sabinyl chemotype).
Orthosiphon
Orthosiphon (syn. Clerodendranthus) is a genus of 45 accepted Lamiaceae species native from Colombia and Africa to northeast Australia; its best-known species, O. aristatus or O. stamineus (cat's whiskers, misai kucing), is a Southeast Asian medicinal plant used as a diuretic and studied for antidiabetic effects.
Oval Office Swedish ivy
Oval Office Swedish ivy: Plectranthus verticillatus, a South African mint-family trailer displayed on the White House Oval Office mantel from the Kennedy era until February 2025, now surviving through staffer cuttings.
Patchouli
Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin, 广藿香), Lamiaceae herb of Sri Lanka and Malesia; leaves steam-distilled into earthy patchouli oil rich in patchoulol, dominated by Indonesian production and used as a perfumery fixative.
Peppermint
Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) is a sterile hybrid mint, a cross between water mint and spearmint, grown for menthol-rich oil used in flavoring and medicine.
Perilla frutescens
Perilla frutescens (shiso, Zisu, beefsteak plant), an East Asian mint-family herb grown as culinary herb and omega-3-rich oilseed; chemotypes differ in safety, with perilla ketone toxic to livestock.
Phlomis
Phlomis (Jerusalem sage) is a Lamiaceae genus of about 91-100 perennial herbs and shrubs native from the Mediterranean to Central Asia, now separated from Phlomoides, used as herbal tea and in traditional medicine.
Plectranthus
Plectranthus L'Hér., a mint-family (Lamiaceae) genus described in 1788, formerly held about 450 Old World tropical species; molecular phylogenetics split it in 2019, moving most species to Coleus and Equilabium, leaving 72 in Plectranthus sensu stricto.
Pogostemon
Pogostemon, also called pogostemon or patchouli genus, is a Lamiaceae genus of about 80-95 herb and shrub species with disjunct African-Asian distribution; P. cablin yields patchouli essential oil, about 1,300 tonnes yearly.
Premna
Premna L. (also Premna integrifolia, agnimantha) is a genus of about 130 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in Lamiaceae, subfamily Premnoideae, native to the Old World tropics and used in traditional medicine.
Prunella vulgaris
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal, heal-all, Xiakucao 夏枯草), a perennial Lamiaceae herb native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and Central America, used in Chinese medicine as the dried fruit spike and in pollinator-friendly lawns.
Rosemary
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) is an aromatic evergreen shrub of the mint family native to the Mediterranean, grown worldwide as a culinary herb and source of essential oil.
Salvia
Salvia (sages), largest genus of Lamiaceae with roughly 900-1000 species, cosmopolitan herbs and shrubs defined by two stamens forming a pollen-depositing lever mechanism; includes culinary sage Salvia officinalis.
Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum (Diviner's Sage, Maria Pastora, Sally-D), a perennial mint native to Oaxaca, Mexico, used by Mazatec shamans; its diterpene salvinorin A is the only known non-alkaloidal hallucinogen and a selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, producing short-lived dissociative effects; not federally scheduled in the US but banned in many states.
Salvia hispanica
Salvia hispanica (chia) is an annual Lamiaceae herb native to Mexico and Guatemala, domesticated in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; its seeds, rich in fiber, protein, and alpha-linolenic acid, are a globally marketed functional food.
Salvia miltiorrhiza
Salvia miltiorrhiza (danshen, 丹参), red sage, a Lamiaceae perennial native to China and Vietnam whose dried root is a major traditional Chinese medicine for cardiovascular disease, containing tanshinones and salvianolic acids.
Salvia pratensis
Salvia pratensis, known as meadow clary or meadow sage, is a perennial herb of the mint family native to Europe and known for its staminal lever mechanism.
Salvia sclarea
Salvia sclarea (clary sage), Lamiaceae herb native Mediterranean to W. Himalaya; essential oil rich in linalyl acetate and linalool; sclareol yields Ambroxide fixative; antimicrobial, anthelmintic uses.
Salvia yangii
Salvia yangii, commonly known as Russian sage, is a deciduous subshrub of the mint family, native from Afghanistan to western China and grown for its blue flowers.