Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - September 18, 2015
From: austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: How to tell Monarda citriodora from Monarda punctata.
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Hello! I'm wondering if you could clarify the differences between Monarda citriodora and Monarda punctata. Perhaps they do a lot of hybridizing, but I have plenty of conflicting info on id's with these two, even among numerous keys and databases. Visually I've seen what seems to be M.punctata resemble M.citriodora, but perhaps a just bit less showy, slightly more spots with a potent medicinal and herbal fragrance of thyme or oregano than M.citriodora, which I associate with a more showy inflorescence and always a citrusy lemon fragrance. I've never experienced what I believe is M.citriodora as smelling of oregano or thyme, and never looking any different whereas M.punctata varies pretty widely from it's typical characteristics (even within the same patch) and always smells herbal and medicinal to me. Does this make sense? What gives?ANSWER:
Monarda citriodora is easily distinguished from Monarda punctata by flower characteristics. The flowers of Monarda citriodora are pink (sometimes white) and have no (or few) spots. The flowers of Monarda punctata are white to creamy-yellow and have purple or maroon spots. The showy bracts below the flowers of both species are usually pink or magenta. However, you're right that each species can exhibit a lot of variability in their characteristics.
The crushed leaves of Monarda citriodora emit a citrus scent, while the leaves of Monarda punctata impart a fragrance most often compared to oregano.
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Identification Questions
Plant Identification
March 11, 2009 - Hello. I don't know if this is a North American native plant, but here's my question: I have a soft, low groundcover that looks like a miniature version of Foxtail Fern. Lowe's folks suggested it m...
view the full question and answer
Which one is huajillo and which one is guajillo?
November 19, 2013 - Recently I attended a field trip to the Leonard Garden at the Kleberg Institute in Kingsville. I took a picture of a tree that was referred to as Tenaza or huajillo. Later I took another photo of a ...
view the full question and answer
Plant identification
June 10, 2008 - Mr. Smarty Plants, My neighbor gave me a plant that is about 3 foot tall, has a main stalk, and leaves that produce small “baby” plants at the edge of the leaves. These plants grow roots and once dev...
view the full question and answer
Identification of Spaeralcea sp. Globe Mallow
March 31, 2008 - Let's do it again....my computer had some "issues" and I lost your answer....
I purchased a mallow from the WFC about two years ago...I was told at the time they had not yet identified the plant...
view the full question and answer
Identification of yellow fruit with many fingers
December 24, 2012 - This is a yellow lemon smelling fruit with many fingers. Yellow in color. Looks like an octopus.
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |