30 
The leaves are opposite and borne on stems, heart shaped or oblong, 
with an acute apex, 1 to 24 inches long, evenly and finely scalloped, 
green above, beneath grayish-green with fine white hairs. The many- 
flowered clusters appear from June to September, and are borne in 
thick spikes 1 to 5 inches long at the top of the stems and branches. 
The flowers are white or somewhat purple, two-lipped, the upper lip 
two-cleft, the lower one 
three-lobed and sometimes 
as spotted with red, the mid- 
dle lobe broadest and 
round-toothed. 
( + Parts used.—The flower- 
ing tops and leaves are to 
be collected when the plant 
is in flower and carefully 
dried. They haveastrong 
mint-like odor and a bitter 
taste. The coarser stems 
and branches should be 
rejected. . 
Catnip is used in de- 
rangements of women, as 
a mild stimulant and tonic, 
and has a quieting effect on 
the nervous system. 
Imports and prices.—Ca- 
taria or catnip is imported 
in but small quantities. 
The price paid for the 
flowering tops and leaves 
is from 2 to 8 cents per 
pound. 
ay 
HOARHOUND. 
Marrubium vulgare L. 
_ Other common names.— 
Houndsbene, marvel, mar- 
rube, (Fig. 31.) = 
Range and habitat.— 
Hoarhound has been naturalized from Europe, and has escaped 
from gardens in this country, being found now rather abundantly 
_in dry sandy or stony soil in waste places, pastures, fields, along 
roadsides, and near dwellings, from Maine to South Carolina, Texas, 
_ and westward to California and Oregon. It is very abundant in pas- 
Fic. 20.—Catnip ( Nepeta cataria L.). 
