423. XCIII. LABlATiE. Melissa. 



terminal. — TJ. Grows on rocks and in dry woods, N. Y. to Ga. and Ark. Stem 

 4-angled, mostly purple, branching, smoothish, 1 — 2f high. Leaves small, 

 nearly smooth, roundish orsubcordate at base, tapering to a point and punctate 

 with pellucid dots. Flowers with subulate bracts at the base of the 3-lorked 

 pedicels. Calyx punctate. Corolla nearly twice as long as the calyx, pubes- 

 cent, pale red. Stamens and style much exserted, of the same hue as the corolla. 

 The herb is delightfully fragrant, and used in febrifugal infusions. Jl. Aug. 



Tribe 5. MELISSINEJE. — Calyx bilabiate ; corolla bilabiate ; upper lip 

 straight, lower lip spreading, cleft into 3 flat lobes, of which the middle one is 

 often broadest. Stamens 4, sometimes 2, ascending. 

 18. HE DEO MA. Pers. 



Gv. iiSeia, sweet or agreeable, oarjxri, smell; on account of the fragrance. 



Calyx gibbous beneath at base, 13-ribbed, throat hairy ; upper lip 

 of corolla erect, flat, lower lip spreading, 3-lobed ; stamens 2, fertile, 

 ascending. 



H. PULEGioiDEs, Pers. (Cunila. Linn. Ziziphora. R. <|' S.) Pennyrmjal. 



Lvs. oblong, few-toothed ; JIs. axillary, whorled, — (p A small, strong-sceiited 

 herb, held in high repute in the domestic materia medica. Stem erect, branch- 

 ing, half a foot high. Leaves opposite, with I — 2 teeth each side, on very short 

 petioles, smooth on the upper surface, roughish beneath. Calyx ciliate, 2 lower 

 divisions spined. Abundant in -dry pastures, N. Eng., Can. to Ga, and Ark. 

 Flowering all summer. 



19. MICROMERIA. Benth. 



Gr. iiiKpnSj small, jJispos, division; on account of the slightly 2-lipped calj'x and corolla. 



Calyx 13 (rarely 15)-ribbed, 5-toothed, nearly equal; corolla sub- 

 bilate, tube exserted, upper lip bifidly emarginate, lower subequally 

 3-lobed ; stamens ascending, the upper pair shorter. 



M. GLABELLA. Bcnth. (Ciinila. Michx. Hedeoma glabra. Nutt.) 

 Glabrous ; st. branching above, and mostly surculose at base ; lvs. entire, 

 those of the suckers elliptic-ovate, of the stem linear-oblong, obtuse ; verticillas- 

 ters about 6-flowered. — % A delicate little herb nearly or quite smooth, growing 

 on lime-stone rocks near the base of Niagara Falls ! W. to the Falls of St. An- 

 thony. Rare. It has the general aspect and fragrance of pennyroyal. Stem 

 erect (prostrate at base), 4-angled, .slender, 6 — 10' high. Suckers at the base 

 often numerous and several inches in length, with leaves about 3" by 2", brown- 

 ish-purple beneath. Stein leaves 9 — 12" long, very narrow, the lowest some- 

 times with a few teeth. Flowers somewhat regular, on pedicels ^' long, with 

 linear bracts at the base. Corolla pale purple. Stamens 4, the upper pair 

 much the shortest, all antheriferous. July, Aug. 



20. MELISSA. Benth. 



Gr. name of the bee, from //eX, honey, which is sought in these flowers by bees with avidity. 



Calyx 13-ribbed, flattish above, the upper lip 3-toothed, lower bifid; 

 upper lip of the corolla erect, flattish, lower lip spreading. 3-lobed, 

 the middle lobe mostly broadest ; stamens ascending. 



1, M. OFFICINALIS. Balm. 



Pubescent ; st. erect, branching ; JIs. in dimidiate verticils, subsessile ; Ivs.^ 

 ovate, acute, coarsely crenate-serrate, rugose; bracts few, ovate-lanceolate, pe-^ 

 tiolate. — '4 N. Eng. ! to la. ! found in the deepest forests ! A well known gar- 

 den plant. Stem 1 — 2f high. P^'lowers v/hite or yellowish. The plant is a 

 stomachic and diuretic, generally administered in the form of tea. For medi- 

 cinal use it should be cut beibre flowering, which occurs in June and after. "^^1 



2. M. Clinopodium. Benth. (Clinopodium vulgare. Linn.) Wild Basil. 



Villose; lvs. ovate, subserrate; verticils many-flowered, hairy; In-acts nu- 

 merous, subulate. — Tj. Low woods, Northern and Western States. A common 

 plant, 1 — 2f high. Stem square, simple or sparingly branched, and, as well 



