Clinopodium grandiflorum

Perennial of the Lamiaceae family, widespread in southern Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Alps, the Apennines, and the Balkans, with extensions towards Asia Minor. It colonizes clear undergrowth, shaded forest edges, damp rocks, and grassy banks, on generally calcareous substrates, between 400 and 1,600 meters of altitude.

The plant forms loose and spreading clumps, reaching 30 to 50 cm in height, with upright to slightly arched stems. The leaves are oval to heart-shaped, crenate on the edges, medium green, slightly hairy, and emit a pronounced aromatic scent when crushed, fresher and less camphor-like than that of other species in the genus.

The flowers are significantly larger than those of neighboring species, tubular and bilabiate, bright pink to carmine-pink, arranged in sparse whorls along the stems. It is precisely this size of the flowers, unusual in the genus, that gives the species its epithet.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August. In cultivation, it can bloom from May to September depending on the exposure.

It prefers cool, well-drained, humus-rich soils, in partial shade or light shade. Less xerophilous than other Mediterranean calamints, it is suitable for shaded rockeries and edge gardens.