Condea albida

Condea albida (formerly Hyptis albida) is an aromatic shrub of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to Mexico, where it grows on dry slopes, disturbed ground and tropical deciduous forest, extending into adjacent arid regions of the southwestern United States. It forms a branching, woody shrub whose stems and foliage are densely clothed in fine whitish hairs, giving the plant a greyish, felted (albida, 'whitish') appearance and a strong minty aroma when crushed. The leaves are opposite, ovate to lance-shaped and toothed. The small flowers are pale, two-lipped and borne in dense, headlike clusters along the upper stems, typical of the Hyptis group. The fruit consists of small nutlets. Chemically the plant is rich in flavonoids and pentacyclic triterpenoids such as betulinic, ursolic and oleanolic acids, accounting for much of its biological activity.