About Lepechinia hastata (A.Gray) Epling
Lepechinia hastata (A.Gray) Epling is an aromatic perennial shrub that reaches 0.3 to 2.3 m (0.98 to 7.55 ft) in height. Its stems are 1 to 1.5 cm (0.39 to 0.59 in) thick and covered in dense short hairs. Like most species in the Lamiaceae family, this plant has oppositely arranged leaves, which attach to the stem via a petiole around 6.5 cm (2.6 in) long. Upper leaves located near the inflorescence are ovate and sessile. Full-sized leaves can grow up to 32 cm (13 in) long and 15 cm (5.9 in) wide. Leaves have a hastate shape, with a cordate to auriculate leaf base and an acute leaf tip, and are covered in velvety trichomes over visible raised veins. The inflorescence is an open panicle, with lateral branches that branch cymosely 2 to 3 times. The inflorescence bracts are linear and grow up to 1.1 cm (0.43 in) long. Flowers grow in axillary, cymose clusters, and are borne on pedicels that elongate as the flower ages, reaching about 1.2 cm (0.47 in) in length at anthesis. The calyx is made of 5 sepals fused at the base; the calyx tube measures 2 to 4 mm (0.079 to 0.157 in) long at anthesis. The corolla is 4-lobed, 11 to 21 mm (0.43 to 0.83 in) long, and colored purple-magenta. The fruit splits into 4 glossy black nutlets, each about 5 mm (0.20 in) long and 2.5 mm (0.098 in) wide. Historically, this species has been used as a natural remedy to treat uterine infections. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and can grow successfully in poor, dry soils. It is recommended to grow this plant in locations that receive afternoon shade. In cultivation, it is sometimes incorrectly labeled as Lepechinia salviae, a similar but separate species native to Chile.
