Prairie Pennyroyal. Lemon Mint. Mexican Tea (Hedeoma drummondii) is a low perennial plant characterized by the lemon-like odor of the foliage, the narrow, tubular lavender corollas, and the bulging finely-ribbed tubular calyx. The flowers and leaves are about half an inch long. The low, bushy clumps grow on rocky plains and hillsides throughout Texas, the flowers blooming during the late spring and summer. A tea made from the foliage, either fresh or dried, is considered of value for its soothing effect. A few leaves in iced tea add a piquant flavor. The name is from the Greek and means “sweet smell.”
The American pennyroyal is Hedeoma pulegioides. The leaves and flowering tops are collected in July and August and dried. It yields an oil used in medicine.
PALE WILD BERGAMOT
Pale Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa mollis) is a very lovely member of the horsemint group. The slender stems are branched at the top, each branch having a terminal cluster of lavender flowers. The flowers are tubular and two-lipped, 1-1½ in. long, the upper lip narrow and the lower broad and three lobed. The upper lip is clothed with soft hairs.
The wild bergamot grows in the states east of the Rocky Mountains, and several varieties are known. In Texas it grows in moist woods in the eastern part and along streams in North Texas. It is a perennial which is sometimes cultivated. The stems are usually about two feet high. The leaves are short-stalked and lance-shaped, the margins having a few short teeth. The leaves have a pleasant aroma and are used in flavoring tea. Medicinally they are used as a stimulant and as a remedy for colic pains.
The brilliant, scarlet-flowered Oswego tea (Monarda didyma) of the Eastern States is not native to Texas. It is used as a substitute for tea.
GREEN HORSEMINT
Green or White Horsemint (Monarda punctata) differs from the wild bergamot in having numerous clusters of flowers at the top of the stem. These clusters are surrounded by many short, drooping floral leaves which are blotched with white or occasionally have a purplish tinge. The yellow corollas are dotted with purple and are about an inch long. The calyx tube is ribbed, and the lobes are short and triangular. In growth habit and shape of leaves it is very much like the purple horsemint, but in flower it is readily distinguished by the yellow flowers and green and white floral leaves. The plants are perennial, much-branched, and somewhat downy. They are found in the Eastern and Central States and bloom in Texas from late May to July.