198 MINT FAMILY 



recognized by its low growth of woody stems, evergreen 

 needle-like leaves, less than half an inch long, and dense, 

 oblong, silky heads of little pale purple flowers spotted 

 with darker color on the lower lip. The odor of the 

 whole plant is similar to pennyroyal, and the plant is 

 locally known by that name. 



Pycnothymus rigidus (Satureia). Flowers pale purple, 

 small, in dense cylindrical spikes about 1 in. long. Stamens 

 4. Stems shrubby, spreading, 10-30 in. long. Leaves needle- 

 like, short, many. Sandy soil. Blooming all the year. Fla. 



MiCROMERiA (Genus Micromeria) 



This creeping plant, commonly but incorrectly called 

 pennyroyal because of its fragrance, grows on muddy banks 

 of streams, and is the only Florida representative of a 

 pungently flavored genus whose species are most abundant 

 in the Mediterranean region, where the sun's warmth 

 seems stored in warmly perfumed herbage. The flowers, 

 only one-fourth of an inch long, are on slender pedicels 

 longer than the leaves, which are less than one-half inch 

 long. 



Micromeria Brownei. Flowers purplish, small, solitary 

 from leaf-axils. Stamens 4. Stems usually creeping, 6-15 

 in. long. Leaves roundish, small, short-stalked. River banks 

 and damp places. Blooming in spring and summer. Fla. 



Basil. Calaminth (Genus CUnopodium) 



The red basil rivals the red sage in the intense color of 

 its flowers, but is easily distinguished from the sage by 

 its little leathery leaves, only one-fourth to three-fourths 

 of an inch long. The flowers are longer than those of the 

 sage, and the yellowish throat is sometimes spotted with 

 dark red. It is a decidedly ornamental little shrub, 

 which grows in the driest sand, and is sometimes seen on 



roadsides. 



The smaller C. Ashei, with lavender flowers half an inch 



