192 MINT FAMILY 



winter, when the pale flower-clusters of spring have given 

 place to shining violet or purple berries, borne close against 

 the stem. These berries — which are not true berries but 

 are drupes — are a favorite food of mocking birds. 



Callicarpa americana. Flowers pale purple or bluish, small, 

 4-lobed, clustered in leaf-axils. Calyx 4-lobed, stamens 4. 

 Fruit small, violet or purple. Shrub 3-8 ft. tall. Leaves 

 opposite, oval, stalked, toothed, 3-6 in. long. Dry soil. Bloom- 

 ing in spring and summer. Fla. to Va., Texas, and Mo. 



Black Mangrove. Honey Mangrove {Avicennia 



nitida) 



The black mangrove is not related to the true mangrove 

 (Rhizophora) , but is an evergreen tree that grows on the 

 coast, often with other mangroves and, like them, aids in 

 land-formation. Its long horizontal roots spread exten- 

 sively, and from them strange upright "breathing stems" 

 rise. 



The oblong leaves, two to three inches long, are smooth 

 and glossy on the upper surface, and are paler and mi- 

 nutely but densely downy beneath. The small, five-lobed, 

 white flowers, with four stamens, are in short spikes, and 

 are very silky. They bloom in summer, and are a chief 

 source of the highly prized mangrove honey. 



The seed in the leathery oblong fruit, which is oblique 

 and is from one to two inches long, begins to germinate 

 while still on the tree. The fallen fruit floats on the water, 

 buoyed by the spreading cotyledons. 



MINT FAMILY {Lahiatae (Lamiaceae)) 



Herbaceous or shrubby plants. Leaves opposite, usually aro- 

 matic. Stems 4-aiigled. Flowers 2-lipped, stamens 2 or 4. The 

 fruit is 4 nutlets in base of calyx. 



When in doubt, taste your plant, is an excellent rule to 

 follow. The intense bitter of the hollies, the peculiar taste 



