22 Br. Smith's botanical Hiftory of Mentha exigua. 



root being fibrous, inftead of creeping, was very fufpicious ; and 

 this circumftance decided it to be no variety of M. Pulegiuw, though 

 in fmell no two plants could be more fimilar. Roots were fent to 

 Mr. Fairbairn at Chelfea, and frefh fpecimens to Mr. Sowerby, for 

 his Engliih Botany ; but the latter were luckily not in a fumciently 

 perfect ftate to be drawn. I fay luckily, for this ill-fated Mentha 

 proves after all to be a non-entity ; a cafual infpcction of the Lin- 

 nean Herbarium having lately fatisfied me, that it is neither more 

 nor lefs than Cunila pukgioides. 



Its native country is North America, from whence Kalm com- 

 municated a fpecimen to Linnaeus, now in my pofTedion, and at 

 prefent accompanied by another, probably from Gronovius, refer- 

 ring to Pulegium ereffium, odore vehement!, jlore violaceo, radice nequaquam 

 reptatrice, Clayton. Gron. Fl. Virgin. 8vo, p. 66. This plant in 

 the 4to edition, p. 90, is made a Melt fa, and a description is added, 

 which agrees well with our Mentha exigua. It is not however my 

 prefent purpofe to write a hiftory of this plant as Cunila pukgioides', 

 all I mean now to eftablifh is, that it has no right, under any name, 

 to a place in our Flora Anglica; for there can be no doubt, that 

 its feeds were brought to Mr. Hafell among earth from America, 

 attached to the roots of fome of the plants he is frequently receiv- 

 ing from thence, it having been fought for in vain near Ipfwich, in 

 the places from whence bog earth was brought to his warden. 

 Whether it is really to be efteemed a Cunila, depends upon its 

 having two {lamina or four. In the latter cafe it maybe a Mentha 

 a Metifia, or more probably, from its habit, annual root, and ap- 

 pearance of the corolla, a Satureja ; and Satureja viminea has, like it 

 the exact fmell of penny-royal. Cunila is altogether an artificial 

 genus, made up of Thymic Satureja, &c. which happen to have but 

 two perfect flamina. 



VII. Obfer. 



