Names
Scientific Name: Teucrium cubense var. densum
Synonym: Teucrium cubense var. depressum
Common Names: Small coastal germander
Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: 4,000 feet and below; sandy soils, washes, and fields of the Sonoran Desert
Flower Color:White
Flowering Season: June to October
Height: Up to 27 inches
Description: This member of the mint family has many white flowers, each a little more than a half inch in length. It’s leaves are oval, 1/4 to ½ inches in length.
Special Characteristics
Small coastal germander often grows adjacent to prickly pear.
Teucrium cubense may have antidiabetic effects.
Classification
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
SOURCES:
Treatment from the Jepson Manual 1993: ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4745,4914,0,4915
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center at University of Austin, Texas website: wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=TECU
Kearney, T. H. and R. H. Peebles. 1960. Arizona Flora. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Alonso-Castro, A. J., et al. 2010. The antidiabetic plants Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth (Bignoniaceae) and Teucrium cubense Jacq (Lamiaceae) induce the incorporation of glucose in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant murine and human adipocytes. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 127-1 1-6
