Hyssopus (plant)

Hyssopus (hyssop) is a genus of herbaceous or semi-woody plants in the family Lamiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to central Asia as far east as Mongolia. They are aromatic, with erect branched stems up to 60 cm long covered with fine hairs at the tips. The leaves are narrow oblong, 2–5 cm long. The small blue flowers are borne on the upper part of the branches during summer. By far the best-known species is the herb hyssop (H. officinalis), widely cultivated outside its native area in the Mediterranean.

Though commonly called "hyssop", anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum; also called blue giant hyssop) and all Agastache species are not members of Hyssopus. However, both genera are in the mint family.

Species

1. Hyssopus ambiguus (Trautv.) Iljin ex Prochorov. & Lebel - Altai Republic of Russia, Kazakhstan
2. Hyssopus cuspidatus Boriss. - Altai Republic, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia
3. Hyssopus latilabiatus C.Y.Wu & H.W.Li - Xinjiang
4. Hyssopus macranthus Boriss. - Altai Republic of Russia, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan
5. Hyssopus officinalis L. - central + southern Europe, Algeria, Morocco, east to Iran
6. Hyssopus seravschanicus (Dub.) Pazij - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
7. Hyssopus subulifolius (Rech.f.) Rech.f. - Afghanistan.