Bluemink (Ageratum houstonianum)

Bluemink (Ageratum houstonianum) is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, an annual herbaceous shrub, cylindrical stems, branching, and green or reddish, white-haired, 0.3-1 meter high, leaves oval to triangular, 2-7 cm long, wide 2-5 cm, green, serrated margins and white hairs.

A. houstonianum has bright blue or red or purple or white flower heads. Flower heads in dense corymbs. The flowers are thread-like and have fine hairs. The lanceolate bracts are narrow, pointed, serrated at the top and glandularly hairy.



This species grows to form dense colonies in grasslands, moist forest clearings and bushes up to an elevation of 1000 meters, prefers cool soil and full sun.

This plant produces a methoprene-like compound that disrupts the normal function of the corpus allatum in insects, the organ responsible for secreting hormones and making insects sterile. This plant is toxic to grazing animals causing liver damage.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Eupatorieae
Subtribe: Ageratinae
Genus: Ageratum L. in Sp. Pl.: 839 (1753)
Species: Ageratum houstonianum Mill. in Gard. Dict., ed. 8.: n.° 2 (1768)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Ageratum conyzoides var. houstonianum (Mill.) T.R.Sahu in Feddes Repert. 93: 64 (1982)
Ageratum conyzoides subsp. houstonianum (Mill.) M.Sharma in Geobios, New Rep. 3: 152 (1984)
Carelia houstoniana (Mill.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 325 (1891)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Ageratum conyzoides var. mexicanum (Sims) DC. in Prodr. 5: 108 (1836)
Ageratum houstonianum var. angustatum B.L.Rob. in Contr. Gray Herb. 68: 6 (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum f. isochroum B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum f. luteum B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum var. muticescens B.L.Rob. in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 51: 532 (1916)
Ageratum houstonianum f. niveum B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum f. normale B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum var. typicum B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum houstonianum f. versicolor B.L.Rob. (1923)
Ageratum mexicanum Sims in Bot. Mag. 52: t. 2524 (1824)
Ageratum mexicanum album T.Moore in Proc. Roy. Hort. Soc. London 1: 306 (1860)
Ageratum mexicanum var. majus Voss in Vilm. Blumengärtn., ed. 3. 1: 445 (1894)
Ageratum mexicanum var. nanum T.Moore (1860)
Ageratum mexicanum rubrum T.Moore (1860)
Ageratum mexicanum var. wendlandii Voss (1894)
Ageratum pinetorum (L.O.Williams) R.M.King & H.Rob. in Phytologia 24: 115 (1972)
Ageratum wendlandii M.Vilm. in Suppl. Fl. Pleine Terre: 2 (1884)
Alomia pinetorum L.O.Williams in Fieldiana, Bot. 31: 25 (1965)
Cacalia mentrasto Vell. in Fl. Flumin.: 339 (1829)

PUBLICATIONS

Balkrishna, A. (2018). Flora of Morni Hills (Research & Possibilities): 1-581. Divya Yoga Mandir Trust.

Barooah, C. & Ahmed, I. (2014). Plant diversity of Assam. A checklist of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms: 1-599. Assam science technology and environment council, India.

Ghafoor, A. & al. (2021). Flora of Pakistan 224: 1-310. Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi.

Ghazanfar, S.A., Edmondson, J.R. & Hind, D.J.N. (eds.) (2019). Flora of Iraq 6: 1-458. Ministry of Agriculture & Agrarian Reform, Baghdad.

Gosline, G., Bidault, E., van der Burgt, X., Cahen, D., Challen, G., Condé, N., Couch, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Dagallier, L.M.J., Darbyshire, I., Dawson, S., Doré, T.S., Goyder, D., Grall, A., Haba, P., Haba, P., Harris, D., Hind, D.J.N., Jongkind, & al. (2023). A Taxonomically-verified and Vouchered Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Republic of Guinea. Nature, scientific data 10, Article number: 327: [1]-[12].

Hassler, M. & Muer, T. (2022). Flora Germanica: alle Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands in Text und Bild 2: 865-1712. Verlag Regionalkultur, Uberstadt-Weiher.

Kiew, R. & al. (eds.) (2021). Malayan Forest Records 49: 1-403.

Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.

Kozhevnikov, A.E., Kozhevnikov, Z.V., Kwak, M. & Lee, B.Y. (2019). Illustrated flora of the Primorsky Territory, Russian Far East: 1-1124. National institute of biological resources.

Mao, A.A. & Dash, S.S. (2020). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Dicotyledons) 1: 1-970. Botanical Survey of India.

Mirek, Z., Piękoś-Mirkowa, H., Zając, A. & Zając, M (2020). Vascular plants of Poland an annotated checklist: 1-526. W. Szafer institute of botany, Polish academy of sciences, Krakow, Poland.

Muer, T., Sauerbier, H. & Cabrara Calixto, F. (2020). Die Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Madeiras: 1-792. Verlag und Versandbuchhandlung Andreas Kleinsteuber.

Probatova, N.S. & al. (2006). Flora Rossiĭskogo Dal'nego Vostoka. Dopolneniya i izmeneniya k izdaniyu Sosudistye rasteniya sovetskogo Dal'nego Vostoka t. 1-8 (1985-1996): 1-454. Russian academy of sciences Far Eastern branch.

Pruski, J.F. (ed.) (2018). Flora Mesoamericana 5(2): 1-608. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.

Rajbhandari, K.R., Rai, S.K. & Chhetri, R. (2024). A Handbook of the Flowering Plants of Nepal 5: 1-432. Department of Plant Resources, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Roskov Y. & al. (eds.) (2018). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Schäfer, H. (2021). Flora of the Azores a field guide: 1-445. Margraf Publishers GmbH.

Stace, C. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles ed. 4: 1-1266. C & M Floristics.

Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542.

VERNACULAR NAME

Afrikaans: Tuin Ageratum, Tuinageratum, Tuin-ageratum
Armenian: Անծերի մեքսիկական
Austria: Gewöhnlicher Leberbalsam
Bengali: নীল কুয়াশা Nīla kuẏāśā
Burmese: အပြာရောင်မြူ Aapyaarraung myauu
Chinese (simplified): 熊耳草
Chinese (traditional): 熊耳草 - 紫花藿香薊 - 墨西哥香薊 - 墨西哥藍薊 - 勝紅薊 - 紫花毛麝香 - 臭草仔 - 斷血草
Danish: Almindelig blåkvast
Dutch: Ageratum
English: Bluemink, Piji, Cotton floss, Hawaii blue, Garden ageratum, Blue billygoat weed, Flossflower
Filipino: Asul na hamog
German: Gewöhnlicher Leberbalsam
Hawaiian: Maile hohono
Hindi: नीला कोहरा Neela kohara
Hong Kong: 熊耳草
Hungarian: Kék bojtocska
Indonesia: Piji, Bandotan biru, Kabut biru
Japanese: ムラサキカッコウアザミ - アゲラタム
Java: Piji
Khmer: អ័ព្ទពណ៌ខៀវ Apt pnrkhiev
Korean: 불로화
Lao: ໝອກສີຟ້າ Mok sifa
Macao: 熊耳草
Malayalam: Kaliyamman-pathiri, Michangala, Neela appa
Melayu: Piji
Nepali: Nilo Gandhe, Gandhe Jhaar
Pashto: نیلي ورېځ Naili wryz
Queensland: Blue billygoat weed
Russian: Агератум Гаустона, Агератум Хьюстона
Sinhala: නිල් මීදුම Nil mīduma
Spanish: Flor de garrapata, Yerba del zopilote
Swedish: Ageratum
Taiwan: 紫花藿香薊
Tamil: நீல மூடுபனி Nīla mūṭupaṉi
Thai: หมอกสีฟ้า H̄mxk s̄ī f̂ā
Ukrainian: Довгоцвіт мексиканський
Urdu: نیلی دھند Nili dhand Vietnam: Sương mù xanh

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium