Confined to less
than 60 acres of yellow-sand scrub near Sebring, Florida,
this rare mint, first
described to science in 1989, is close to extinction. It
was named in honor of Floridata's own Steve Christman,
who first realized that it was a distinct species. Yellow
scrub balm (also called Christman's mint or Garrett's
mint, after a mid-century botanist from Sebring) is a
small woody shrub (up to 1' tall and 2' wide) that blooms
in September and October.
Whereas other species of Dicerandra smell like
peppermint, this ones smells like camphor. The closely
related D. frutescens has been shown to
have powerful insecticidal properties but yellow scrub
balm has yet to be investigated for possible economic
importance. Yellow scrub balm has proven difficult to
maintain in cultivation. Recently the US Department of
Interior purchased some of the Sebring scrub where this Endangered Species (and several
others) occurs for the newly authorized Lake Wales Ridge
National Wildlife Refuge, the nation's first National
Wildlife Refuge dedicated to plant preservation.
Confined to less
than 60 acres of yellow-sand scrub near Sebring, Florida,
this rare mint, first
described to science in 1989, is close to extinction. It
was named in honor of Floridata's own Steve Christman,
who first realized that it was a distinct species. Yellow
scrub balm (also called Christman's mint or Garrett's
mint, after a mid-century botanist from Sebring) is a
small woody shrub (up to 1' tall and 2' wide) that blooms
in September and October. 
Whereas other species of Dicerandra smell like
peppermint, this ones smells like camphor. The closely
related D. frutescens has been shown to
have powerful insecticidal properties but yellow scrub
balm has yet to be investigated for possible economic
importance. Yellow scrub balm has proven difficult to
maintain in cultivation. Recently the US Department of
Interior purchased some of the Sebring scrub where this Endangered Species (and several
others) occurs for the newly authorized Lake Wales Ridge
National Wildlife Refuge, the nation's first National
Wildlife Refuge dedicated to plant preservation.
