Search / Plant Profile / Collinsonia verticillata

Plant Profile

Whorled Horsebalm (Collinsonia verticillata)

A closeup view of the flower of this rare mint. Photo Credit: Brian Parsons

Global Rank: G3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Lamiaceae
State: AL, GA, KY, MD, NC, OH, SC, TN, VA
Nature Serve ID: 144678
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 04/01/1990

Description:

Collinsonia verticillata is a woodland herb that grows from a hard, thickened rhizome. It produces flowers that range in color from white to pink and lavender in May and April. It produces fruit in June and July. There are 2-3 pairs of leaves, and unbranched inflorescence. It flowers with 4 stamens. The U.S. Forest Service, due to its limited range in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, has listed it as Sensitive. Very little is known about this species, although researchers have been able to successfully transplant mature plants to regional botanic gardens and arboreta for observation.

Where is Whorled Horsebalm (Collinsonia verticillata) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Mixed mesophytic and cove forests of the southern Appalachians and occasionally in other habitats with extremely rich soil (Jess Peirson personal communication).

Distribution:

Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia (NatureServe 2001).

States & Provinces:

Whorled Horsebalm can be found in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Which CPC Partners conserve Whorled Horsebalm (Collinsonia verticillata)?

Holden Forests and Gardens

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

09/03/2020

Seed germination studies--little to nothing is known currently. A.L. Fone studied seed output in various plant forms of this species in the 1980's.

09/03/2020

Jess Peirson, an Ohio University graduate student, is studying the genus to verify the current species classification using morphology and DNA.

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Collinsonia verticillata can be locally abundant but is scattered and infrequent throughout its range.

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Opening of canopy through logging Habitat destruction by road and residential construction (Jess Peirson personal communication)

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Unknown, but field studies of populations in Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio in spring of 2001 showed that those populations were healthy. (Jess Peirson personal communication)

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Jess Peirson, an Ohio University graduate student, is studying the genus to verify the current species classification using morphology and DNA. A.L. Fone studied seed output in various plant forms of this species in the 1980's.

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

None known.

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

General ecological, demographic and genetic variability research would be useful for this taxon.

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Seed germination studies--little to nothing is known currently.