Pycnanthemum muticum forma novae-angliae – New England Mountain Mint – 1-Quart

We first saw this plant in a shipment of plants from another grower – they were labeled P. muticum. They certainly didn’t look like the P. muticum that we received from other growers or pictures we had seen. The foliage around the flowers is dusted white just like P. muticum, but the foliage is much narrower. For a time we labeled it P. montanum, but were never certain of the appellation. Then we discovered the plant growing wild in the nearby Shawangunk Mountains and in Connecticut. It appears it may be the form of the species here in the northeast and we have labeled it “novae-angliae.” We surmise it is a hybrid between P. muticum and one of the narrow-leaved northeastern species – perhaps P. tenuifolium, P. virginianum or P. verticillatum. We are waiting on botanists for a final decision on the plant’s identity.