Macro Monday #2 - Mint, Anyone?

Known commonly as spotted beebalm, spotted horsemint, or simply horsmint¹, this wild plant is not so pretty to look at from a distance. It grows in ho-hum places like the side of the road, where it's easily mistaken for an uninteresting flowery weed. Close up, it proves to be an intriguing vision of shapes, color, and texture—and it's a medicinal herb to boot.

Native Americans made a tea from the leaves of spotted horsemint to treat flu, colds and fever. It increases sweating. Essential oils from horsemint are high in thymol, which is an effective fungicide and bactericide and also used to expel hookworms. Today thymol is manufactured synthetically.²

I don't know why it's called horsemint, though. :?:

Taken in Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Sources:

• ¹ Wildflower Center
• ² Floridata

“A photograph is memory in the raw.”
~Carrie Latet

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