While walking along a salt marsh I visit frequently, I was surprised to see clusters of blooming flowers I’d never noticed before. It’s amazing how many things I still overlook, despite careful observation and multiple return visits throughout different seasons. But it also means there are still happy surprises and more plants to get to know. This new-to-me-plant ended up being American germander (Teucrium canadense), a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) with a terminal, dense spike-like cluster of flowers. 

Each individual American germander flower is predominantly white or light pink with darker pink streaks in the center. The flowers, which bloom through July and August, have a large lower lip, which functions as a landing pad for pollinators. Long-tongued bees are American germander’s most important pollinators, which include bumblebees and honeybees. The flowers’ stamens are also quite distinctive, as they protrude up from the back base of the flower through a slit in the upper lip of the blossom, rather that out through the center as in most species. 

The plant has a square stem and opposite leaves, typical of species in the mint family. Although largely single stalked, American germander can have a few branches towards the upper part of the stem. The leaves are broadly ovate or lanceolate, serrated along the edges, and downy underneath. The lower leaves have short stout petioles, while the upper leaves are sessile (attached directly to the stem). The roots of American germander are fibrous and rhizomatous, allowing the plant to spreads into sizable colonies.

American germander is native to North America and is widespread across the United States and Canada. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including moist grasslands, at the edges of forests, in thickets, on river banks, and at the edges of marshes, as well as in disturbed areas. The plants pictured here were photographed at the edge of a salt marsh.