# Please identify this plant? Bee-friendly?



## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

It is a mint, but I cannot tell witch one.


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## thenance007 (May 25, 2011)

Thanks, Dave, that narrows it down to about 500 species--can we narrow it down a bit more?


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Looks like one of the "nettles" to me. What happens if you gently rub a leaf on the back of your hand?


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## beemilk (Sep 12, 2012)

Looks like a square stem, characteristic of mints, but I cannot see it clearly. The leaf arrangement looks like a false nettle, but the specimen in the photo looks like it has purple flowers .... not greenish/white like false nettle. It would be extremely helpful if a more detailed photograph of the flowers were provided.


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## thenance007 (May 25, 2011)

Joseph - not stinging nettle - nothing happened. Flower color is between pink and purple--lavender? Here are a couple more pics but flowers are tiny (1/8") and only a few blooming on each spike. Smell is strong but not minty--maybe a bit of anise? Growing at bottom of north facing hill, shady, probably moister, so mint family sounds right. I've been weedeating them down for a couple of years, but if they are a perennial mint with extensive root system, tells me why I haven't made a dent in the population. But if they are bee friendly, I'll stop trying to kill them!


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Appears to be a mint genus _Agastache_ Likely _Agastache urticifolia_ (the nettle leaf Hyssop), Pix are very poor for identification.
Compare http://www.grainesvoltz-seeds.com/agastache-urticifolia-alba-9-7656-16677-m07.280-art.aspx

If the flowers are flagged to one side could be the Asian weed Elsholtzia ciliata which is reported from the east.


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## MDJ (Apr 19, 2012)

Perilla Mint


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## thenance007 (May 25, 2011)

That's it, MDJ!!! Thank you! JW it does look like my Agastache, but that one grows in the Western US and I'm in Tennessee. Interesting that it is used in Japanese, Lao, Vietnamese,and Korean cuisines as lots of my neighbors are Lao--I'm betting it escaped from someone's garden and naturalized.

I think I'll let it stay since it seems to attract beneficial insects--my bees seem to have better things to forage but I like having a variety of pollinators around. Thanks, everybody for your help!


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## scot1959 (Sep 26, 2016)

definitely perilla mint or also known as beefsteak plant. bees tear it up in my area (middle tn). not sure if it's just pollen or if they're after nectar also. great fall bloom... my bees prefer it over goldenrod.


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## Clairesmom (Jun 6, 2012)

Extremely toxic to livestock though, so keep your cows and horses well away from it.


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## scot1959 (Sep 26, 2016)

yep, i don't think deer touch it either. I think livestock only eat it if nothing else is avail or if it mistakenly gets included in hay. I don't have cattle so I hope my farmer neighbors don't spray it...  I love it even though it's invasive... have mixed emotions about it.


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