Dragonhead mint

Taxobox
name = "Dracocephalum parviflorum"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Lamiaceae
genus = "Dracocephalum"
species = "D. parviflorum"
binomial = "Dracocephalum parviflorum"
binomial_authority = Nutt.

Dragonhead mint or American dragonhead ("Dracocephalum parviflorum" Nutt.) is a wild North American mint growing from New York state through the Midwest and Canada and into Alaska. It grows as either an annual or biennial, producing clusters of small pink to violet flowers in whorls at the ends of many branching stems. The seeds are very small (about 2 mm), dark, and high in oil content, about 20%.

A recent study suggests that this mint may have application as a commercial birdseed crop in Alaska.

References

* [http://www.uaf.edu/snras/afes/pubs/misc/MP_06_01.pdf Dragonhead mint ("Dracocephalum parviflorum" Nutt.) as a potential agronomic crop for Alaska] , 2006. Bob Van Veldhuizen and Charlie Knight.