Robison's Monardella
(Monardella robisonii )
Lamiaceae

BLM Photograph

Description: Grayish, aromatic perennial with branching woody base, 3-5dm high.  Stems square and grayish. Stems and leaves with long, soft, spreading hairs; leaves opposite, entire, narrowly ovate-elliptical, 6-15mm long; petioles 1-3mm long; terminal heads dense, 1-2cm wide, surrounded by membranaceous bracts 7-8mm long.  Corolla is pale blue to pale rose, with a slightly exerted tube.

Distribution: Found in and around Joshua Tree National Park and the Little San Bernardino Mountains.  Found around 3200-4500ft.

Habitat: Rocky desert slopes in pinyon-juniper woodlands.  Often found among granitic boulders.

Flowering Period: April-July

Similar Plants: Monardella exilis is distinguished by white tipped bracts.  M. linoides ssp. stricta has purpilish bracts and usually grows at higher elevations than M. robisonii. 

Status: BLM Sensitive, California Native Plant Society List 1B