Lycopus asper (Western Water-Horehound) - photos and description
15 cm ruler for scale
Sepals acutely pointed
Sepals acutely pointed
Origin: Native.
General: Erect plants with leafy stems. Stems square, sparingly hairy. Plants rhizomatous.
Flowers: Small white flowers in clusters in leaf axils. We measured a flower up to 6 mm diameter and 5-6 mm long. Calyx lobes are narrow, acute, measured at 3-4 mm long.
Leaves: Leaves are cauline, opposite, lanceolate, serrate, and sessile. Leaf in above photo was 6 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
Height: Height is listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, the plant in the above photo was 37 cm tall.
Habitat: Stream banks, swamps, and other wet areas.
Abundance: Common.
Similar species: Very similar to Lycopus uniflorus, however, L. asper has narrow, acutely pointed lobes of its sepals, while L. uniflorus has sepals which are ovate and blunt.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken July 21st, in a fen bordering the Qu'Appelle Lakes, about 140 km east of Regina, SK, July 26th on the edge of a beaver pond, boreal forest about 300 km, northeast of Regina, SK, and August 14th in a wetland, parklands about 225 km northeast of our home in Regina, SK.