WILDFLOWERS OF NEW MEXICO

This Eurasian alien found heaven in overgrazed pastures and soon conquered the West. The square stems densely covered with white hairs reach 1–2-feet tall with distinctive oval, wrinkled, aromatic leaves. The flower shape and square stem are typical of the Mint family.

FLOWER: April–July. Dense whorls of tiny, white flowers bloom in the leaf nodes spaced along erect stems. The 3/16-inch long (5 mm) flowers have 2 lips, the upper erect with 2 lobes, the lower drooping with 3 lobes. Flowers form small burrs with hooked spines. Each burr contains 4 seeds.

LEAVES: Opposite, 3/4–2-inch long (20–50 mm) oval blades are hairy above, woolly below, prominently veined, and wrinkled with rounded teeth.

HABITAT: Rocky, sandy soils of fields, roadsides, disturbed areas; prairies, desert grasslands, pinyon-juniper, ponderosa woodlands.

ELEVATION: 3,600–8,400 feet.

RANGE: Widespread across western U. S.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The pungent, wrinkled, veined leaves and whorls of tiny flowers in the leaf axils help distinguish this species.

NM COUNTIES: Statewide in low- to mid-elevation habitats, especially disturbed areas.