Lamiaceae

Lamiaceae is a large family containing about 220 genera and 3,500 species distributed worldwide but concentrated in the Mediterranean region and southwest Asia. Plants are annuals or perennials which can be herbaceous or shrubby. Some perennial members of the family die down completely during dormancy. Leaves are opposite and the stems are often squared. Flowers are a fusion of 5 petals. Each flower produces at most 4 seeds arising from 2 ovaries. It is an important family due to the secondary metabolites produced which are prized in culinary preparations. These include basil, mint, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Other members of the family such as Salvia and Coleus are grown for their ornamental values.

We have the genera Nepeta and Salvia represented on the wiki.


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Page last modified on June 05, 2022, at 04:09 PM
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