GERMANDER (Teucrium canadense)
You’d be forgiven for confusing this rare mint with marsh hedge-nettle (Stachys palustris) – the two look remarkably similar, but germander has darker pink flowers and has very soft, fuzzy leaves. the individual flowers have a split upper lip, the lobes standing straight up like roasted turkey legs. Germander is ranked S3 (vulnerable) in Manitoba.
Germander grows in marshes and along stream edges where it’s found with swamp milkweed, wild mint, marsh hedge-nettle, prairie loosestrife, woolly sedge and Buxbaum’s sedge.
Flower Colour: pink
Life Cycle: perennial
Sun Exposure: part shade to shade
Bloom Period: July – August
Height: 1 – 3 feet