American Germander, Wood Sage, Canada germander, Teucrium canadense L.,Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Canada Germander	Teucrium canadense L.	Mint (Lamiaceae)	Woodland	Late Summer
Other names and notes	(Wood Sage; American germander). The light purple irregular flowers are in spikes above egg shaped toothed opposite leaves. The flowers have a very prominent lower lip with the upper lip absent. The red-tipped stamens are very prominent as they protrude upward from the base of the flower. A plant preferring moist soils.


	All blooms above from late July.

Notes: Eloise Butler had catalogued this plant in her plant index in 1912 as present in the Garden area. She also brought in some on Aug. 13, 1912, from Ft. Snelling. Martha Crone noted that she planted 9 plants on July 6, 1933 that she obtained from an area near Shakopee. The general area where she noted planting them is about the same as where these plants currently grow along the east Woodland Garden path. The plant is native to Minnesota in most counties except the North Central Part of the State and the Arrowhead. A related plant Teucrium canadense L. var. occidentale known as Western germander is also present in the State but only in scattered counties in the Western half of the State. T. canadense L. has wide distribution across the United States and Canada. There is little information in the literature about any medicinal or foodstuff properties for this plant, but within the same genus are such well known herbs as Thyme.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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