Mentha. XCIII. LABIATiE. 415 



Tribe 1. OCIMOIDEJ3.— Corolla subbilabiatc, the 4 upper lobes nearly 

 equal, the lower one declinate, flat or concave, carinate or saccate. Stamens 

 4, declined. 



1. OCtMUM. 



Gr. o(,a, to smell; on account of Ihe jiowcrful scent of (lie plunts. 



Upper lip of calyx orbicular, lower 4-fid ; corolla resupinate, one 

 lip 4-cleft, the other undivided ; exterior filaments with a process at 

 their base. 



O. BAsiLiciM. Royal Ocivium. Sweet Basil. — Lis. smooth, ovate-ohlong, 

 subdentate, pctiolaie; ca!. ciliale. — An exotic from Persia, cultivated. Plant 

 about a foot hic^h, with peculiarly smooth and soft leaves variously colored, ex- 

 halino^ a deliii:htful odor. Stem rctrorsely pubescent above, branched. Flow- 

 ers wliite, in simple, terminal racemes. Jl., Aug. :j: 



2. LAVANDULA. 



Lat. lavare, to wash. The use of the distilled water of this plant is well known. 



Calyx ovoid-cylindric, with 5 short teeth, the upper one often 

 largest ; corolla upper lip 2-lobed, lower 3-lobed, lobes all nearly 

 equal ; tube exserted ; stamens included. 



L. spiCA. Lavender. — Lis. linear-oblanceolate, tapering to the ba.se, ses.^ile, 

 revolute at the edge, the upper ones linear-lanceolate, the highest shorter than 

 the calyx; .«:/»//.e interrupted ; brads subulate. — %. Plant 12— 18' high, suflruti- 

 cose, biianehing from the base. Leaves crowded at the base of the branches, 

 clothed with a whitish down. Calyx villose. Corolla much ex.serted and of a 

 lilac color. The plant is well known as an aromatic of a delightful fragrance. 

 It is stimulant and tonic, and the oil extracted by distillation enters into many 

 compositions in medicine. Jl. ^ 



3. PLECTRANTHUS. L'Her. 



Gr, v\r]KTpov, a cockspur, av^og ; from the spur-like appendage of the corolla. 



Calyx upper lip largest ; cor. resupinate, ringent, with the tube 

 gibbous or spurred on the upper side at base. — Half shrubby 'plants^ 

 with pur pie flowers. Natives of hot climates. 



P. PARViFLORus. " Sa^c Gcraiiimn." — Sf. suffruticose, smoothish, branched ; 

 rac. compound, terminal, leafless; pcchindcs 1-flowered, verticillate ; corolla 

 gibbou.s. — S. America. Sometimes .seen in house cultivation and called Sage 

 Geranium! It is a large, coarse plant. 2 — 3f high, with large, soft, ovate, cre- 

 nate leaves, and terminal racemes of very delicate bluish-purple flowers. 



Tribe 2. MEXTHOIDE.E.— Corolla somewhat campanulate or funnel- 

 form ; tube scarcely exserted, limb subequally 4 — 5-lobed. Stamens 4, some- 

 times 2, distant, straight, diverging. 



4. MENTHA. 



Mintha, the daughter of Cocytus, is fabled to have been changed into one of these plants. 



Calyx equally 5-toothed ; cor. nearly regular, 4-cleft, the broadest 

 segment emarginate ; sta. 4, straight, distant ; anth. cells parallel ; 

 filaments naked. 



1. M. Canadensis. (M. borealis. Michx.) Harsemint. 

 A.scending, pubescent; Ivs. petiolate, lanceolate, serrate, acute at each 

 end; fls. in axillary cymes; sta. generally exserted. — % Can. to Ky. and Penn. 

 An herbaceous, grayish plant, 1 — 2f high, growing in muddy situations. The 

 stem is square "and usually branched, the angles beset with reversed hairs. 

 Leaves serrate, on opposite, downy footstalks, and punctate with resinous dots 

 at each end. Flowers apparently in whorls, pale purple, usually distinguished 

 by the projecting stamens which are .sometimes twice as long as the corollas. 

 Calyx hairy. Aromatic like the other species. June, July. 



/?. stamens equaling the corolla. 



