Agastache cusickii, Cusick's giant hyssop
Matthews, Robin F. 1993. Agastache cusickii, Cusick's giant hyssop. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/agacus
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| AGACUS | Cusick's giant hyssop | Agastache cusickii | Life Form: Plants/Forb, Plants/Subshrub Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Genus: Agastache | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The scientific name of Cusick's giant hyssop is Agastache cusickii (Greenman) Heller (Lamiaceae). Agastache cusickii var. cusickii and Agastache cusickii var. parva Cronquist are recognized infrataxa [3,4,5,6].
Synonyms
- Agastache cusickii Heller
- Lophanthus cusickii Greenman
Other Common Names
giant hyssop, horse-mint, Cusick horse-mint
General Distribution
Cusick's giant hyssop is found in the Steens Mountains of southeast Oregon; the Santa Rosa, White Pine, and Toiyabe mountains of north and central Nevada; and the Tendoy Mountains in southwest Montana. It is also found in numerous locations in central Idaho [3,4,5]. In addition, populations are reported from other mountain ranges in Nevada [10].
States and Provinces
- United States: ID MT NV OR
Site Characteristics
Cusick's giant hyssop is found on dry, rocky sites, and often on talus slopes. It occurs at mid- to upper elevations in mountains (7,590 to 10,560 feet [2,300-3,200 m]) [3,4,5].
Plant Communities
Mid- to high-elevation sites in the Santa Rosa and Toiyabe ranges in Nevada are occupied by scattered limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and pinyon-juniper woodlands at the lower elevational limits of Cusick's giant hyssop. On Steens Mountain, Oregon, Cusick's giant hyssop may be associated with western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), curlleaf mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), or high-elevation sagebrush-grasslands [1]. In the Tendoy Mountains, Montana, Cusick's giant hyssop is common on limestone talus with mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) [7].
Botanical Description
Cusick's giant hyssop is a dwarf perennial forb, usually 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) tall with a spiked inflorescence. Numerous simple or branched stems arise from a woody taproot and branching caudex. Leaves are mostly 0.4 to 1.0 inch (1-2.5 cm) long and are finely puberulent. The fruits are nutlets [3,4,5].
A Cusick's giant hyssop plant.
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Chamaephyte
Seasonal Development
Cusick's giant hyssop flowers from June to August [3,5].
Regeneration Processes
No information was available on this topic. Cusick's giant hyssop likely sprouts from the caudex and establishes from seed.
Successional Status
No information was available on this topic.
Immediate Fire Effects
Specific information on the effect of fire on Cusick's giant hyssop is not available in the literature. However, aboveground parts of nettleleaf giant hyssop (Agastache urticfolia) were completely consumed by late summer and fall fires in the Great Basin Rate of Spread Study, which was conducted in Nevada [13].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- Caudex, growing points in soil
Fire Adaptations
Cusick's giant hyssop often inhabits talus slopes that are not generally susceptible to fire. It may sprout from the caudex following disturbance.
Plant Response to Fire
Specific information on the response of Cusick's giant hyssop to fire is not available in the literature. Nettleleaf giant hyssop sprouted in the first postfire year following late summer and fall fires in Nevada [13].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
No information was available on this topic.
Federal Status
None
Other Status
Cusick's giant hyssop is classified as endangered in Montana [8].
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
No information was available on this topic.
Palatability and Nutritional Value
No information was available on this topic.
Cover Value
No information was available on this topic.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
No information was available on this topic.
Other Uses
No information was available on this topic.
Other Management Considerations
No information was available on this topic.
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES29 Sagebrush
- FRES44 Alpine
May occur in other ecosystems but specific information is lacking.
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- 5 Columbia Plateau
- 6 Upper Basin and Range
- 8 Northern Rocky Mountains
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K024 Juniper steppe woodlands
- K052 Alpine meadows and barren
- K055 Sagebrush steppe
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 217 Aspen
- 219 Limber pine
- 238 Western juniper
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- 107 Western juniper/big sagebrush/bluebunch wheatgrass
- 108 Alpine Idaho fescue
- 315 Big sagebrush-Idaho fescue
- 316 Big sagebrush-rough fescue
- 322 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany-bluebunch wheatgrass
- 401 Basin big sagebrush
- 402 Mountain big sagebrush
- 410 Alpine rangeland
- 411 Aspen woodland
- 415 Curlleaf mountain-mahogany
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3. Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; [and others]. 1984. Intermountain flora: Vascular plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. Vol. 4. Subclass Asteridae, (except Asteraceae). New York: The New York Botanical Garden. 573 p. [718]
4. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
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7. Lesica, P., et. al. 1986. Noteworthy collections: Montana. Madrono. 33: 310-312. [21744]
8. Lesica, Peter; Shelly, J. Stephen. 1991. Sensitive, threatened and endangered vascular plants of Montana. Occasional Publication No. 1. Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 88 p. [20964]
9. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
10. Schlatterer, Edward F. 1972. A preliminary description of plant communities found on the Sawtooth, White Cloud, Boulder and Pioneer Mountains. Unpublished report. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Region. 111 p. [2076]
11. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
12. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
13. Range, Phil; Veisze, Paul; Beyer, Cheryl; Zschaechner, Greg. 1982. Great Basin rate-of-spread study: Fire behavior/fire effects. Reno, Nevada: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office, Branch of Protection. 56 p. [1935]