H Y S 



fttmtei under the upper lip, crowned by a hifid ftlgma. 

 "The germen afterward becomes Jo man^ oval feeds fitting 



in the empalement. 



This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion 

 of Linnn::ns's fourteenth clafs, intitled Didynamia 

 Gymnofpermia, which contains thofe plants whofe 

 flowers have two long and two fhort ftamina, and 

 are fucceeded by naked feeds in the empalement. 

 TheS 



H 



S 



lES are, 



1. Hvssopus {Officinalis) fpicis fecundis. Hort. Cliff. 

 op\fHyffop with fruitful fpikes. Hyflbpus officina- 

 rum ccerulea feu fpicata. C. B. P. 217. Hyffop of the 

 fhops with blue fpikes, or the common Hyffop. 



2. Hvssopus {Rubra) fpicis brevioribus, verticillis 



compa£l. 



Hyffop 



3 



Hyffop with floor ter fpikes, and who) 

 Hyffopus rubro flore. C. B. P. 21 7. 



'd flower. ' ^ ^ 



PUS {Altiffimis) fpicis longiffimis verticillis dif- 



1, Hyffop with the longeji fpikes^ and whorls at a 

 dijlance. Hyflbpus verticillis fiorum rario- 

 iouft. Hyffop with the whorls of flowers thinly 



4 



ranged. 

 Hyssopus 



(Nepetoides) caule acuto quadrangulo. 



Hort. Upfal. 163. Hyjfcp with an acute fq 

 Sideritis Canadenfis altiffima, fcrophularias folio, flore 

 flavefcente. Tourn. Infl. 192. Tallefl Canada Ironwort, 



5 



with a Figwort leaf and a yellowifo flower. 

 Hyssopus {Lcphanthus) corollis fubrefupinatis fta- 

 miriibus corolla brevioribus. Hort. Upfal. 162. Hyf- 

 fop with tranfverfe petals, and the lower ftamina floor ter 

 than the petal Nepeta floribus obliquis. Dill. Cat- 

 mint with oblique flowers. 



The firfl: fort, which is the only one cultivated for 

 life, grows a foot and a half high; The fl:alks are 

 firfl: fquare, but afterward become round \ their lower 

 parts are garnifl:ied vvith fmail fpear-fliaped leaves 

 placed oppofite, without foot-fl:alks, and feven or eight 

 very narrow 6re6t leave's (or braftasa) rifing from the 

 fanie joint/ The upper part of, the ftalk is garniflied 

 'witJl.whprls of flowers, the lower ones ftanding half an 

 tnicti apart, but tKe upper are almofl: joined together 

 .The upper lip of the flower is indented at the top, 

 and the under is cut into three parts, the middle being 

 deeply indebted at the point. ;^ There are four ftamina 

 in each flower, wHich fpread at a diftance from each 

 other ; the two upper are the fhofteft, which are fitu- 

 ated oh bach fide the upper lip j the two longer ftand 

 clqfe to the two fide fegments, and are terminated by 

 twin fummits. At the bottom of the tube are fitu- 



ated four naked germen, fupporting a flender fl:yle, 

 fitting clofe to the upper lip, crowned by a bifid 

 ftigmai thefe germen afterward become four oblong 

 black feeds, fitting in the empalement. The whole 

 plaht has a ftrong aromatic fcent. It flowers in July 

 ind Auguft, and the feeds ripen in Septeriib^r, but 

 the roots^will abide many years j it grows naturally 

 in the Levant. There is a variety of this with white 

 flowers, but doth not differ from the blue in any 

 Other particular. 



The fecond fort doth not grow fo tall as the firft ; 



the ftalj^-s branch n^Qre* and the fpikes of flowers ^^i;e 



much fiiorter tliah tfiole of the firft. ^^, The whorls are 



. clofcr together, and have Ibng narrow leaves fifuated 



unde? each.'' The flowers are of a fine red colour, and 



appear at the fame time with the former. This fort 



IS not quite fo hardy as the common, for in 1739 the 



plants were all deftroyed by tHe cold V this is certainly 



a diftinft fpecies, for I cultivated it from feeds twenty 



years, and never obferyed it to vary. . .^"/ ^ '\ , -, 



The third fort grows rnuch tal^ler tb^a either of the 



other. The leaves are narrower,' the whorls of 



'ffowers are: farther afiinder, "the fpikes of flowers are 



much longer, the flowers are larger, and of a deeper 



blue than thofe of the common fort, and the plant 



hath not fo ftrone an odour. It flowers at the fame 



time as tne firft. . . , . 



Thefe thi^ee forts' of Hyfibp are propagated either by 



feeds or cuttings j if by the feeds, they muft be fown 



in March, upon a bed of lio;ht fandy foil ; and when 



xiv: ulants corne 





^ 



up, thej 



,1 * 



: to the places where they are to remain, placina them 

 at leaft a foot afunder each way •, but if they arc de- 

 . - figned to abide in thofe places for a long time, two 

 feet diftance will be fmall enough, for they piow 

 pretty large, efpecially if they arc not frequently cut 

 to keep them within compafs ; they thrive beft upon 

 a poor dry foil, in which fituation they will endure 

 the cold of our climate better than when they are 

 planted on a richer foil. If you would propagate 

 them by cuttings, they ftaould be planted in April or 

 May, in a border where they may be defended from 

 the violent heat of the fun -, and being frequently wa- 

 tered, they will take root in about two months • af- 

 ter which, they may be tranfplanted where they are 

 to continue, managing them as was before direded 

 for the feedling plants. 



The firft fort was formerly more cultivated than at 

 prefent in England, that being the fort commonly 

 ufed in medicine. The other fpecies are preferved in 

 curious gardens for their variety, but they are feldom 

 cultivated for ufe. 



They are very hardy plants, which will endure the 

 cold of our winters in the open air, provided they are 

 planted in a dry undunged foil ; for when they are 

 planted in a rich foil, they grow very luxuriant ia 

 fummer, and are lefs able to refift the cold in win- 

 ter ; fo that when any of thefe plants grow out of 

 the joints of old walls, (as they frequently do) they 

 will refift the moft fevere froft, and will be much 

 more aromatic than thofe which grow in a rich foil. 

 The fourth fort grows naturally in North America; 

 this hath a perennial root and an annual ftalk, which 

 decays in autumn- It rifes with^an upright fquare 

 ftalk near four feet high, garniflied with oblique* 

 heart-fliaped leaves, which are fawed on their edges, 

 and end in acute points j they are placed oppo- 

 fite on fhort fbot-ftalks/;,^The flowers grow i^ 

 :' .clqfe thick Ipikes four'^r^'live inches long, at t^ 

 ^ .IPP:^f .lhe,ftalk^;,^he. uppfr^%is dividecJL int» , 

 two roundifii fegments, the lower one is divided into 

 '.. three,- the two fide fegments ftanding ereft, and the 

 middle one is reflexed, and acutely fawed at the enl£ 

 The two upper ftamina, which are fituated on eaA 

 . fide the upper lip are the longeft, the other two fhorter 

 join thie two fide fegments of the lower lip •, they arc 

 terminated by fmall fummits. The germen are fitu- 

 ated at the bottom of the tube, having a flender ftyle ^ 

 under the upper lip, crowned by a bifid ftigma* The . 

 germen afterward becomes four oblong brown feeds^ 

 fitting in the tubulous empalement.. This fort flowers' 

 in July, and the feeds ripen in September, , :;.f(i:v^l .: 

 There is a variety of this fort with purple ftalks and 

 purplilli flowers. The leaves ftand upon^ longer 

 foot-ftalks, and the fpikes of flowers are thicker, but 

 I cannot fay if it is a diftin6t fpecies or only a va- 

 riety. It grows naturally in the fame country with 

 the other. It is titled, Betonica maxima/foIiojTcrophu-; .- 

 ] larise, floribus incarnatis, by Herman, Par. Bat; 106. ;* " 

 The fifth fort grows naturally in Siberia. ^.The feeds . 

 of this were fent me from the Imperial garden at Pe- 

 terfl^yrgh, by the title of Lophanthus, and afterwards 

 1 received fome from Holland, which were titled, 

 Nepeta floribus obliquis. Dill.„ This is a perennial 

 plant' with a ftrong fibrbm'root, fending out many 

 fquare ftalks, "which' divide into fmaller branches,! 

 garniftjed with oblong leaves, crenated on. their edges,- 1 

 fet on by pairs. The flowers are produced at each 

 joint in fmall clufters, tw'o foot-ftalks anfing from;? 

 the bafe of the leaves, about half an Inch "long, both;, 

 inclining to one fide of the ftalk , each of thefe 

 foot-ftalks divide again into two fmaller, and thefe 

 do each fupport a clufter of four or five flowers,. 

 which have fwdling tubulous empalements, cut into 

 five' acute fegments at the top.. The tube of the pe- 

 tal is, Iqnger than the empalement. The lips of the 

 flower are oblique to it, being fituated horizontally. 

 The two upper ftamina and the ftyle ftand out be- 

 yond the petal, but the other are ftiorter. The 

 flowers are blue, and appear in June and July, and the 



.* 



'* 



feeds ripen in September. 



V. 



Both 



