Purple Giant-hyssop

Agastache scrophulariifolia

Ecology & Conservation

Proximity Score: 2
Native Status: ❌ Outaouais ❌ Ottawa ❌ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: SE
CEC Eco-Regions: 8 – Eastern Temperate Forests, 8.1 – Mixed Wood Plains, 8.1.7 – Northeastern Coastal Zone
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G4) but nationally critically rare in Canada (N1). Ontario S-rank is S1 (Critically Imperiled). Not listed under SARA. NatureServe lists the species as native to ON and 17 US states. Range is contracting in parts of the northeast; Go Botany notes threats from habitat loss, invasive species, succession, and deer browsing in Connecticut.
S22 S26 S61
Rarity Ranks: ON S1 – Critically Imperiled
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Found in rich mesic woods, forest borders, floodplains, and thickets. Typical habitat includes moist to mesic forests with loamy soils and partial shade. In Michigan, documented in floodplain forests and open oak woods. Globally secure (G4) but nationally rare in Canada (N1), restricted to scattered Ontario populations.
S7 S10 S4 S22

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Insectary Plant, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Insectary Plant: S64 NPPBI 'beneficial insects' flag] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [HIGH]: S64 Xerces listed (source-classified)]

Category: Diuretic
S28 Meskwaki Drug/Diuretic
Notes: Meskwaki ethnobotany records two medicinal uses: an infusion of the root was used as a diuretic, and a compound of plant heads was used medicinally (specific application unspecified). Documented by Huron H. Smith (1928).
S28

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: Moerman records no food uses for this species. The closely related Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop) is widely used as a culinary herb, but A. scrophulariifolia lacks documented edible applications.
S28