Genus 12. 



MINT FAMILY 



2. Moldavica Moldavica (L.) 

 Britton. Moldavian Dragon- 

 head or Balm. Fig. 3597. 



Dracocephalnm Moldavica L. Sp. PI. 595. 

 1/53- 



Annual, puberulent ; stem erect, usu- 

 ally widely branched, i-2j high. Leaves 

 oblong or linear-oblong, dentate or some- 

 what incised, obtuse at the apex, usually 

 narrowed at the base, i'-2' long, 2"-6" 

 wide; clusters loose, few-flowered, com- 

 monly numerous, mostly axillary ; bracts 

 narrowly oblong, usually shorter than 

 the calyx, deeply pectinate with aristate 

 teeth ; pedicels 2"-4" long ; calyx slightly 

 curved, the 2 lower teeth somewhat 

 shorter than the 3 broader equal upper 

 ones; corolla 2-3 times as long as the 

 calyx. 



In a canon near Spring View, Nebr. 

 Also in northern Mexico. Introduced 

 from central Europe. June-Aug. 



13. PRUNELLA L. Sp. PL 600. 1753. 



Perennial simple or sometimes branched herbs, with petioled leaves, and rather small 

 clustered purple or white flowers, in terminal and sometimes also axillary, dense bracted 

 spikes or heads. Calyx oblong, reticulate-veined, about 10-nerved, deeply 2-lipped, closed in 

 fruit ; upper lip nearly truncate, or with 3 short teeth ; lower lip 2-clef t, its teeth lanceolate. 

 Corolla-tube inflated, slightly narrowed at the mouth, its limb strongly 2-lipped; upper lip 

 entire, arched ; lower lip spreading, 3-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous, ascending under the 

 upper lip of the corolla, the lower pair the longer; filaments of the longer stamens 2-toothed 

 at the summit, one of the teeth bearing the anther, the other sterile; anthers 2-celled, the 

 sacs divergent or divaricate. Ovary deeply 4-parted. Nutlets ovoid, smooth. [Origin of 

 name doubtful; often spelled Brwtella, the pre-Linnaean form.] 



About 5 species, of wide geographic distribution. Only the following typical one occurs in 

 North America. 



i. Prunella vulgaris L. Self-heal. Heal-all. Dragon-head. Fig. 3598. 



Prunella vulgaris L. Sp. PI. 600. 1753- 



Pubescent or nearly glabrous ; stem slen- 

 der, procumbent or ascending or erect, 

 usually simple, but sometimes considerably 

 branched, 2'-2 high. Leaves ovate, oblong 

 or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or subacute at 

 the apex, usually narrowed at the base, 

 entire, crenate, dentate, or incised, l'-4' 

 long, the lowest commonly shorter and 

 sometimes subcordate ; spikes terminal, ses- 

 sile or short-peduncled, very dense, i'-l' 

 long in flower, becoming 2'-4' long in 

 fruit; bracts broadly ovate-orbicular, cus- 

 pidate, more or less ciliate ; corolla violet, 

 purple, or sometimes white, 4," -6" long, 

 about twice as long as the purplish or green 

 calyx; calyx-teeth often ciliate. 



In fields, woods and waste places throughout 

 nearly the whole of North America. Native 

 and naturalized from Europe. Native also of 

 Asia. Thimble-flower. All-heal. Brown-wort. 

 Carpenter's-herb or -weed. Hook-heal or 

 -weed. Heart-of-the-earth. Sicklewort. Blue- 

 curls. May-Oct. 



Prunella laciniata L., differing by pin- 

 natifid or deeply incised leaves, found near 

 Washington, D. C, and illustrated in our first 

 edition, is a race of this species. 



