Teucrium canadense
American germander [Blooms: Jun-Aug]
American germander (Teucrium canadense) flowers and fruits. Lower right: an American germander flower from the point of view of an approaching pollinator. The expanded lower lip acts as a landing pad; the two lobes of the upper lip frame the stamens (marked by the bright red anthers) and style (white arrow) so the pollinator must pass them on its way to the nectary. Top right: an American germander flower in lateral view. The lower lip is apparent on the left; the arching stamens and style (white arrow) brush the pollinator as it accesses the nectary inside the calyx on the right. Upper left: a portion of a flower spike with opened blooms below, unopened flower buds above. Lower left: remnant calyxes of fertilized flowers; four partially fused nutlets develop within the calyxes.
American germander flower spikes develop on the tips of the stems, with flowers opening from the bottom of the spike towards the (elongating) tip. Individual flowers are small (about 1/3-3/4″), white or lavender, with a bell-shaped, hairy calyx; an upper lip reduced to two lance-like, vertical lateral lobes that insure pollinators remain beneath the single long, arching single and 3-4 stamens with purple anthers; and a greatly expanded lower lip (a landing pad for pollinators) covered with purple spots. The fruit consists of four nutlets that are nearly fused together, nestled in the remnants of the calyx (which clearly shows the asymmetrical teeth — bottom two smaller than upper three). The nutlets are greenish white when immature, becoming redder and coarsely pitted as they mature. American germander is distinguished from other members of the mint family (Lamiaceae) by the very small upper lip and enlarged lower lip. Related species of Teucrium contain a toxic compound that causes liver damage in animals; for safety’s sake, I would avoid herbal remedies that include American germander.
American germander (Teucrium canadense) stems and leaves. Left: opposite pairs of leaves are attached to a four-angled, green stem. The “quilted” or “air mattress” appearance of the upper surface of the leaves is striking. A few flowers are visible at the top of the image. Right: single leaves of American germander. The upper image in each pair show the upper side of the leaf; the lower image in each pair shows the underside of the same leaf.
American germander is a native perennial 2-3 feet tall. It is a typical member of the mint family with a stout, square (“four-angled”) stem; similar side stems arise from some of the of the leaf axils in the upper half of the plant. The leaves are opposite, broadly oval or lance-shaped, up to 5″ long and 2.5″ across with coarsely serrated margins, and with sunken veins (like a multipartitioned, vegetative air mattress). Each pair of opposite leaves is rotated by 90° from the pairs above and below. The lower leaves have short, robust petioles; the upper leaves are sessile.
Two American germander (Teucrium canadense) plants on the east side of Wooded Island. A magnified image of two American germander flowers is presented in the insert on the right.
American germander is a native perennial 2-3 feet tall. It is a typical member of the mint family with a stout, square (“four-angled”) stem; similar side stems arise from some of the of the leaf axils in the upper half of the plant. The leaves are opposite, broadly oval or lance-shaped, up to 5″ long and 2.5″ across with coarsely serrated margins, and with sunken veins (like a multipartitioned, vegetative air mattress). Each pair of opposite leaves is rotated by 90° from the pairs above and below. The lower leaves have short, robust petioles; the upper leaves are sessile. Flower spikes develop on the tips of the stems, with flowers opening from the bottom of the spike towards the (elongating) tip. Individual flowers are small (about 1/3-3/4″), white or lavender, with a bell-shaped, hairy calyx; an upper lip reduced to two lance-like, vertical lateral lobes that insure pollinators remain beneath the single long, arching stigma and 3-4 stamens with purple anthers; and a greatly expanded lower lip (a landing pad for pollinators) covered with purple spots. The fruit consists of four nutlets that are nearly fused together, nestled in the remnants of the calyx (which clearly shows the asymmetrical teeth — the bottom two smaller than the upper three). The nutlets are greenish white when immature, becoming redder and coarsely pitted as they mature. American germander is distinguished from other members of the mint family (Lamiaceae) by the very small upper lip and enlarged lower lip. Related species of Teucrium contain a toxic compound that causes liver damage in animals; for safety’s sake, I would avoid herbal remedies that include American germander.
Browse more plants
Want to keep exploring more plants? You can view other plants like this one by selecting a characteristic from the list below, or 'browse more plants' to go back to the Plant Finder.
![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Hairy evening primrose produves an elongating spike of flowers arises from the apex of the stem; flowers bloom near the tip while older flowers and seed capsules develop below. Individual flowers are 3/4-1.5" across; they sit on a long floral tube with the ovary at its base (attached to a leaf axil). The flowers have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; at the base of the flower are four sepals 3/8-3/4" long, reflected back along the floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. The sepals are often red-striped or red-tinged. Note the long, hairy floral tube below the sepals, the reddish stem, and glandular hairs with red bases on the ovary. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is up to 1.75" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four tiny lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_villosa-1t-300x300.jpg)
