The plant is 4 Ft tall the flowers are 1 1/2 inch the stems are square the sap is not milky.It is growing in Missouri. This plant is growing where my friend planted two plants she bought from a master gardener sale last year. A Verbena and a Bee Balm. Bill
OK I'll ask the stupid question - do those leafy stems in the first photo belong to this flower or are the flower stalks bare?
The leaves belong to the flower like in the close up and the flowers are an inch and a half wide. Bill
I can see the leaves in the close-up but they are the casing of the bud, and not necessarily the same as the leaves on the stem. It looks painfully like an allium but it is hard to imagine that you would have so many mature alliums in a pot of plants that you buy, not to mention that allium time is mostly over. I'll keep thinking about it.
Very intriguing. Square stems limits the possibilities quite a bit, opposite leaves even more-so, and bee-balm-like scent should put it nicely in the mint family. That being said, I don't know too many mints that have inflorescences like that, and it doesn't seem to be any of those.
It doesn't seem to be an umbel, but a sphere or globe shaped flower. Maybe it is some sort of rare Monarda. I was thinking Monarda fistulosa, but it doesn't look right although it is purple. I don't know what other arcane species monardas to look up. One of us will figure it out eventually... but for quicker action, have you tried Garden Web's Name that Plant? You might get a bigger crowd there.
The leaves look whorled under the flower heads, and the stem looks round in the photo. Maybe you have two different plants. Looks sort of like a variety of Joe-Pye weed, Eupatorium purpureum, or some other Eupatorium. A close-up of the flowers would help.
With Square stems and whorled leaves, I would say it is a Joe-Pye-Weed, Eupatorium maculatum or E. pupureum, probably the latter...
