198 



FIELD AND WOODLAND PLANTS 



One of these, the common Calamint {Calamintha officinalis), 

 is a hauy plant, with an erect, branched stem, one or two feet high, 

 and stalked, ovate, toothed leaves. The whorls of flowers are 



compound, in forked, axil- 

 lary cymes. The calyx is 

 tubular, with thirteen ribs 

 and five pointed teeth. The 

 three upper teeth are united 

 at their base to form the 

 upper lip, while the other 

 two, longer and narrower, 

 form the lower. The corolla 

 is almost twice as long as 

 the calyx, with an upper, 

 erect Hp, and a lower Up 

 with three broad lobes. 

 The stamens are four in 

 number, in pairs, under the 

 upper lip. 



The Lesser Calamint 

 (C. Nepeta) is a very similar 

 plant, by some held to be 

 merely a variety of C. offici- 

 nalis. Its leaves are shortly 

 stalked, but shghtly toothed, 

 and only about half an inch 

 in length. The flowers are 

 about as long as the leaves, 

 arranged in whorls of eight 

 or ten, with corolla about 

 half as long again as the 

 calyx. In both species the 

 mouth of the calyx is hairy, 

 but the hairs are much more 

 prominent in the Lesser 

 Calamint than in the last. Both plants are frequently seen on 

 sunny waysides, flowering during July and August. 



The Balm {Melissa officinalis) is a common garden herb in 

 some parts, and in the South of England it is now fairly estabUshed 

 as a wild flower, though, at present, it is not often found very far 

 from the habitations of man. It is a hairy plant, much like a 



THE B.UiM. 



