Pogostemon

Scientific name

Pogostemon Desf.

Common names

eusteralis, Australian hygrophila

Family

Lamiaceae

Similar genera

Gratiola, Hydrotriche, Limnophila, Mentha, Mimulus, Myriophyllum

Native distribution

tropical regions of Asia and Australia

Species cultivated

Pogostemon erectus (Dalzell) Kuntze

P. helferi (Hook. f.) Press

P. stellatus (Lour.) Kuntze

P. yatabeanus (Makino) Murata

Adventive distribution

none

Weed status

not weedy

Habit

emergent, attached stem plant

Brief description

Annual or perennialperennial:
(adj) (of a plant) having a life cycle of more than two years
. Stem erect, ascending, with creeping stolonstolon:
(n) an above-ground stem growing more or less horizontally and often forming adventitious roots at the nodes
, adventiveadventive:
(adj) introduced, non-native, or added; introduced and naturalized
roots produced from basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
nodes. Leaves in whorls of 4 to 10, evenly spaced along stem, but densely packed at apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
when submersedsubmersed:
see submerged
, sessilesessile:
(adj) attached directly, without a stalk
; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
linear to lanceolatelanceolate:
(adj) lance-shaped; widest point below the middle, tapering to the apex
, midveinmidvein:
(n) the primary, usually central vein of a leaf or leaflet
prominent; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entireentire:
(adj) having a continuous margin that is not toothed or lobed
to finely serrateserrate:
(adj) (of a leaf margin) bearing sharp teeth pointing forward or to the apex
. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
an apicalapical:
(adj) of the apex
(sometimes axillaryaxillary:
(adj) in, of, or produced from an axil
) spikespike:
(n) an indeterminate, unbranching inflorescence of sessile flowers or flower clusters on a usually elongated axis
of densely arranged, small flowers. Flowers zygomorphiczygomorphic:
(adj) bilaterally symmetrical; symmetrical along only one plane
, bisexualbisexual:
(adj) having both male and female sexual reproductive structures on one individual or in one flower
; sepals 5; corollacorolla:
(n) the inner whorl(s) of the perianth; all the petals of a flower
of 4 subequal lobes, pink to purple; stamens 4. Dispersal by seed or stem fragments.

Natural habitat

swamps, rivers, lakes, and floodplains

Additional comments

Pogostemon consists of approximately 94 species and is distributed throughout tropical Asia and Australia. Dysophylla and Eusteralis are considered synonyms of Pogostemon. Few species are currently cultivated for aquariums and ponds. In the submersedsubmersed:
see submerged
form, P. stellatus has numerous geographical varieties, but has narrower leaves than P. yatabeanus, and often has red foliage.