Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

desert lavender Lamiaceae Hyptis emoryi Torr. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: HYEM
Leaf: Opposite, simple, evergreen, ovate to deltoid in shape, to 1 1/2 inches in length; woolly-tomentose and gray-green or blue-green above and below; aromatic, with a scent similar to lavender.
Flower: Species is monoecious; light purple, borne singly or on spikes in the leaf axils; individual flowers to 1 inch; very aromatic.
Fruit: Small brown nutlets borne in husks.
Twig: Gray-brown and woolly-tomentose.
Bark: Gray-brown.
Form: A rounded straggling shrub with upright branches to 20 feet tall but more commonly to 10 feet.
 Looks like: verbena

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Additional Range Information: Hyptis emoryi is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information