Browne's Savory

Also Known As
Aquatic Mint
Creeping Charlie
Florida Peppermint [that's what I call it]
SYNONYMS
Clinopodium xalapense [3] 
Micromeria brownei [1,3] 
Micromeria brownei var. pilosiuscula [1,3] 
Micromeria pilosiuscula [1,3] 
Micromeria xalapense [3] 
Satureja brownei [1,3] 
Satureja brownie subsp. eubrownei [3] 
Satureja brownie subsp. pilosiuscula [3] 
Satureja xalapense [3] 
Thymus brownei [3] 
Thymus xalapense [3] 


Order:   Lamiales
Family:   Lamiaceae
Genus:    Clinopodium
Species: brownei

Florida n c s

Edible Parts
Flower Leaf Caution
Animal Interaction
Butterfly
Other Uses
Mug Jelly Medicinal Soap Ferment Fragrant
Just walking upon a sprawling patch of this very fragrant wild mint in damp places will delight your nostrils. In my opinion, it has a very pleasant scent and flavor that is similar to peppermint. Try making a minty tea from the aboveground, flowering parts. I make it fresh or dried. I try to always have a large mason jar filled with this herb, dried, at hand in my kitchen. Store-bought peppermint? Not for me, thanks. This is, in fact, my favorite native Florida mint to use in the kitchen. Think of this native mint as Florida's Peppermint, in fact, that is what I sometimes call it. Use it as you would peppermint, in teas, sprinkled raw atop salads, in cool summer drinks, etc. I have even enjoyed it, freshly chopped, in homemade chickpea hummus. The website Tropical Useful Plants lists it as having no known medicinal uses. Let me know if you discover any. One source presumes that it may be used externally to repel mosquitoes as it has similar attributes to true Pennyroyal. I would like to see this proven, as it may or may not be so. I would love to see folks here in Florida cultivate this mint and incorporate it into ferments, sorbets, soaps, perfumes, insect repellants, etc. Do not harvest it from the wild in south Florida, as it is listed as "critically imperiled" there by the IRC. Native plant enthusiasts plant it in wet areas as a groundcover. If you do so, know that it does not handle foot traffic well, being so delicate. The pretty white-with-purple blooms attract butterflies and the plant is occasionally sold as an aquarium plant or planted at the edges of garden ponds. CAUTION: Lindernia and Mazus species occur across much of Florida and appear similar. They DON NOT posses the peppermint scent however. 

DO NOT HARVEST FROM THE WILD IN SOUTH FLORIDA: It is listed as "critically imperiled" by Regional Conservation's IRC South Florida Status. [11] If planted as a groundcover in wet areas, know that it does not handle foot traffic well, being so delicate. Lindernia and Mazus species occur across much of Florida and appear similar. They DON NOT posses the peppermint scent however.   
EDIBLE - USED LIKE PEPPERMINT: Think of this native mint as Florida's Peppermint, in fact, that is what I sometimes call it. Use it as you would peppermint, which it has a similar scent to, in teas, sprinkled raw atop salads, in cool summer drinks, etc. I have enjoyed it, freshly chopped, in homemade chickpea hummus. The website Useful Tropical Plants writes, "The plant is a popular local herbal tea and has potential as an insect repellent." Just walking upon a spread of this very fragrant wild mint will delight your nostrils. Cornucopia 2 writes, "The plant has a strong peppermint-like flavor and fragrance. It is locally popular as a herb tea." [8]
DO NOT HARVEST FROM THE WILD IN SOUTH FLORIDA: It is listed as "critically imperiled" by Regional Conservation's IRC South Florida Status. [11]
NOTE: Some authors tell us that it has a scent similar to Pennyroyal. I say Peppermint.
PRESUMED INSECT REPELLENT: The Flora of Guatemala writes, "The essential oil of that plant [Pennyroyal, Hedeoma pulegioides] is often employed in the United States, where it is applied to the skin as a preventive of mosquito bites. It is to be presumed that this species has the same properties." ANDY'S NOTE: I would like to see this proven, it may be an effective mosquito repellant, but we shall see.
BUTTERFLY ATTRACTANT: The blooms attract butterflies.
WATER GARDEN PLANT: It is panted at the edges of garden ponds.
GROUNDCOVER: It is planted as a groundcover in wet areas. [12] Know that it does not take foot traffic well.
"No known hazards." [6]
AQUARIUM PLANT: It is occasionally sold as an aquarium plant.
ANDY'S NOTE: I would like to see it incorporated into homemade soaps as well as fermented drinks. Let me know if you have used it in these or any other ways. The US Forest Service writes about the related Yerba Buena, Clinopdoium douglasii, of the west coast of North America. They write, "The oils are also used for perfumes or potpourris." Perhaps we should try this with Browne's Savory. 

NATIVE TO: "South America: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia; Caribbean: Jamaica to Bahamas; Central America - Honduras to Mexico; North America: Mexico to Florida." [6] To South Carolina. [2] Scattered counties across Florida.
ANDY'S NOTE: There has been some debate as to it being native to Florida or not. I look to the Atlas of Florida Plants [Prof. Wundelrin and crew at USF], and they say that it surely is.
HABITAT: "Swamps, marshes, stream banks, woods and ditches in Florida." [7] Ditches, wetlands. [12]
ETYMOLOGY: "Clinopodium means “bent” or “sloping foot.” [13] Green Deane writes, "It was named after  Patrick Browne (1720-1790)." Relating to one of its synonyms, Green Deane writes, "Micromeria means little parts, or in this case little leaves and flowers."
DESCRIPTION: Perennial sprawling delicate herb. Long lived. [12]
PHENOLOGY: Evergreen. [12]
HEIGHT: 2-12" tall. [1]
STEMS: Square. Trailing to 40 cm. long. [6]
ANDY'S NOTE: Many websites list it as hairy. Wikipedia even lists it as being "heavily pubescent." which it is not. I agree with Green Deane in that the stems seem hairless under magnification.
LEAVES: Opposite.
FLOWERS: White with purple spots. Corolla bilabiate. [2] Stamens four. [2]
CULTURE:
HARDINESS: USDA zones 8A to 10A. [12]
SOIL: Wet conditions. Sand or loam. [12]
LIGHT: Full sun may be best [1], or partial to deep shade.
PROPAGATION: By seed. [6] By divisions or cuttings. [12]
RELATED SPECIES IN FLORIDA: Two other Clinopodium species, both non-native, grow here in Florida's wilds. Neither are at all common.
One, SLENDER WILD BASIL, Clinopodium gracile, is only found in two panhandle counties. [3]
The second, WILD BASIL, Clinopodium vulgare, has only been reported from Orange county. [3]
LOOK ALIKES IN FLORIDA'S WILDS: Lindernia and Mazus species occur across much of Florida and appear similar. They DON NOT posses the peppermint scent however.
ANOTHER WELL KNOWN CLINOPODIUM: YERBA BUENA, Clinopodium douglasii, is a species native to the western coast of North America and has been used by natives. 

More Details


Flowering Calendar
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D


Flower Color
White

Habitat
Aquatic Wet lawns, Swales
Native?
Native
Height
1 feet
Light
Part Sun Full Sun
Watering
Wet
Moist



Sources for acquiring

According to Regional Conservation it is cultivated by native plant enthusiasts. [11] 


References

[1] wildflower.org 
[2] Wikipedia 
[3] Atlas of Florida Plants 
[4] Florida Ethnobotany [no important information] 
[5] [A] Pictorial and Ethnobotanical Guide to Plants of Eastern North America, by Jerry G. Chmielewski [no info of note, but an interesting reference] 
[6] Useful Tropical Plants 
[7] Manual of Southeastern Flora, by J. K. Small 
[8] Cornucopia 2 
[9]  [via 6] Flora of Guatemala, by Standley P.C. & Steyermark, J.A. 
[10] eattheweeds.com 
[11] Regional Conservation 
[12] fnps.org 
[13] USDA Forest Service 
Last Updated: November 16, 2017

Related Plants in Database


Also in Lamiaceae
Conradina grandiflora
Hyptis mutabilis
Monarda punctata