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Cunila origanoides

Common name:	Stone Mint	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	(L.)Britton.	Botanical references:	200, 235, 274
Synonyms:	Cunila mariana (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - New York to Florida, west to Texas and Illinois.
Habitat:	Dry open woods and thickets[222, 274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. marina[,P] Mappia origanoides[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Dittany [P], Sweet Horsemint [H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us Us(Indian)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Tea.

The fresh or dried leaves can be used to make a tea. A pleasant mint-like flavour[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiseptic Aromatic Diaphoretic Emmenagogue Febrifuge Stimulant.

An essential oil, known as cunila oil, obtained from the plant is antiseptic, aromatic and stimulant[4, 200, 274].
A tea made from the leaves is used to treat headaches, colds and fevers[207, 257]. It is believed to induce menstruation and perspiration[222].

Other Uses

Essential Repellent.

An essential oil, called 'Oil of Dittany' is extracted from this plant. It has medicinal properties and is valued as an antiseptic[200].
A bunch of the plant can be used to repel insects, it is effective against horseflies[207].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in a variety of soil types[200]. It thrives in dry soils, preferably of a sandy well-drained nature, preferring a position in full sun[200].
Plants are hardy to about -20° c[200].
The plant has aromatic foliage and the flowers are a good source of nectar for bees[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring[200].
Basal cuttings in late spring or early summer[200]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The plant has an aromatic foliage.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Cunila mariana (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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