Hyptis is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. These plants, known commonly as bushmints, are native to the subtropical and tropical Americas, from the southern United States to northern Argentina. There are 170 species, which may be annual or perennial herb to shrub. In 2012 several genera were segregated from Hyptis, including Cantinoa, Mesosphaerum, and Oocephalus. Description The genus has a wide diversity of growth forms with shrubs, subshrubs, perennial or annual herbs. They have compound inflorescences that can be lax or congested and commonly with Involucral bracts. . They grow in mostly tropical or subtropical savanna habitats.
Etymology The name Hyptis originates from the greek word Hyptios (ὕπτιος) meaning "supine" or "lying on ones back" in reference to the deflexed lower lip of the corolla.
Taxonomic history The genus was first described by Nicolaus jaquin in 1786 as Hyptis. In 1832 George Bentham studied the genus further and divided it into sections based morphologically on the different types of inflorescence. Since then there have been several rearrangements of species and sections within the genus. In 2004 the genus comprised 285 species and a total of 24 sections . A study in 2011 using nuclear and plastid DNA analysis showed that the genus was paraphyletic and that several of the sections could not be placed in a monophyletic clade. With this new information the genus underwent major changes in 2012 Harley and Pastore published their revision and the previous 24 sections were reduced to 10 sections and the total number of species in the genus changed to around 144. Several of the old sections were either moved to other genera or raised to become new genera. After all of these changes the genus was now monophyletic.
Current taxonomic State A follow up study published by Pastore in 2021 further strengthened that the genus now was monophyletic, but it also highlighted the problem that several sections could not form monophyletic clades. The most recent newly described species was published in 2025 with the name Hyptis raymondii in honour of Raymond Harley and his great contributions to this genus and the entire lamiaceae family. The genus now has 170 accepted species.
The sections of Hyptis and their phylogenetic relationship.
Species 170 species are accepted.
Section Adopotes Hyptis albolanata * Hyptis australis * Hyptis hassleri * Hyptis huberi Hyptis loeseneriana * Hyptis multibracteata Hyptis nudicaulis Hyptis sericea * Hyptis tetragona Hyptis tuberosa *
Section Axillares
Hyptis crassipes * Hyptis hirsuta Hyptis homalophylla * Hyptis marrubioides Hyptis uncinata
Section Cyrta
Hyptis divaricata * Hyptis dumetorum * Hyptis grisea * Hyptis imitans * Hyptis lagenaria * Hyptis lavandulacea Hyptis microphylla Hyptis microsphaera * Hyptis muelleri Hyptis pachyarthra Hyptis paludosa Hyptis pulchella Hyptis recurvata
Section Eriosphaeria
Hyptis adamantium * Hyptis alpestris * Hyptis angustifolia * Hyptis arenaria * Hyptis asteroides * Hyptis cachimboensis * Hyptis colligata Hyptis complicata * Hyptis corymbosa * Hyptis crenata – Brazilian mint Hyptis cruciformis Hyptis deminuta * Hyptis dictyodea * Hyptis dilatata * Hyptis ditassoides Hyptis gardneri * Hyptis goyazensis Hyptis heterophylla Hyptis hilarii Hyptis imbricatiformis Hyptis kempffiana * Hyptis kramerioides Hyptis lanuginosa Hyptis lavoisierifolia * Hyptis leptoclada * Hyptis lucida * Hyptis melittiflora * Hyptis monticola Hyptis obtecta * Hyptis origanoides * Hyptis ovata * Hyptis pachyphylla Hyptis passerina Hyptis pastorei * Hyptis penaeoides Hyptis piranii * Hyptis proteoides Hyptis pulegioides Hyptis pycnocephala * Hyptis raymondii * Hyptis rhypidiophylla * Hyptis rotundifolia Hyptis saxatilis Hyptis selloi * Hyptis spathulata * Hyptis tricephala * Hyptis turnerifolia * Hyptis velutina * Hyptis viminea * Hyptis xanthiocephala *
Section Hyptis
Hyptis actinocephala * Hyptis ammotropha * Hyptis armillata * Hyptis capitata – false ironwort, wild hops Hyptis conferta Hyptis florida * Hyptis havanensis * Hyptis hygrobia Hyptis imbricata * Hyptis lorentziana * Hyptis luticola * Hyptis macrocephala * Hyptis minutifolia * Hyptis paupercula * Hyptis petiolaris * Hyptis riparia * Hyptis savannarum * Hyptis shaferi *
Section Latibractea
Hyptis bahiensis Hyptis lantanifolia – island bushmint
Section Marrubiastrae
Hyptis angulosa * Hyptis balansae Hyptis brachypoda * Hyptis brevipes Hyptis caespitosa Hyptis guanchezii * Hyptis inodora Hyptis intermedia * Hyptis involucrata * Hyptis lacustris * Hyptis lanceolata * Hyptis lappacea * Hyptis lappulacea Hyptis linarioides Hyptis longifolia Hyptis maya * Hyptis mollis * Hyptis obtusiflora * Hyptis pachycephala * Hyptis parkeri * Hyptis personata * Hyptis pseudosinuata * Hyptis ramosa Hyptis sinuata * Hyptis subviolacea * Hyptis tweediei * Hyptis vilis *
Section Myriocephala Hyptis odorata Section Peltodon
Hyptis campestris Hyptis comaroides * Hyptis meridionalis * Hyptis pusilla Hyptis radicans
Section Plagiotis
Hyptis eriocauloides * Hyptis laciniata * Hyptis uliginosa
Section Xylodontes I
Hyptis alutacea Hyptis atrorubens – marubio oscuro Hyptis caduca * Hyptis ferruginosa Hyptis hispida * Hyptis humilis * Hyptis lutescens Hyptis villosa
Section Xylodontes II
Hyptis amaurocaulis Hyptis rubiginosa
Section Xylodontes old section
Hyptis brachiata * Hyptis frondosa * Hyptis nigrescens * Hyptis orbiculata * Hyptis remota * Hyptis rondonii * Hyptis salicina * Hyptis woodii *
Section unknown
Hyptis alata – clustered bushmint, musky mint Hyptis argentea Hyptis bicolor Hyptis colubrimontis Hyptis cualensis Hyptis cymulosa Hyptis fallax Hyptis hamatidens Hyptis langlassei Hyptis laurifolia Hyptis lobata Hyptis ovalifolia Hyptis pseudolantana Hyptis pyriformis Hyptis rhytidea Hyptis salvioides Hyptis tetracephala Hyptis tumidicalyx
placed in section based on morphology
Gallery
References
External links Jepson Manual Treatment