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Perennial of the Lamiaceae family, the common calamint is a species widely spread throughout temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. A plant of forest edges, hedges, grassy banks, dry meadows, and roadsides, it adapts to various substrates, calcareous or slightly acidic, in open to semi-shaded environments, from sea level up to about 1,500 meters altitude.
It forms upright clumps 30 to 60 cm tall, with robust, hairy, and slightly reddish stems, clearly visible in the photograph. The foliage consists of oval, slightly toothed leaves, medium green, pubescent on both sides, releasing a slight aromatic scent when crushed.
The flowers are bilabiate, bright lilac-pink to purplish pink, grouped in dense, globular whorls surrounded by very characteristic bristly bracts, which persist after flowering and give the inflorescence a distinctive bristly appearance. In its natural habitat, flowering extends from July to September.
Undemanding, it adapts to most well-drained soils, in sunny to semi-shaded situations. It is suitable for naturalistic gardens, large rockeries, and recreations of spontaneous grassy environments. Its hardiness is complete under European temperate climates.