Meret. XCII. LABIATA. 415 
Trise 1. OCIMOIDE H.—Corolla subbilabiate, the 4 upper lobes nearly 
equal, the lower one declinate, flat or concave, carinate or saccate. Stamens 
4, declined. 
1,.OCIMUM. 
Gr. ofa, to smell; on account of the powerful scent of the plants. 
Upper lip of calyx orbicular, lower 4-fid; corolla resupmate, one 
lip 4-cleft, the other undivided; exterior filaments with a process at 
their base. 
O. BastLicum. Royal Ocimum. Sweet Basil.—Lvs. smooth, ovate-oblong, 
subdentate, petiolate; cal. cilidte-—_@ An exotic from Persia, cultivated. Plant 
about a. foot high, with peculiarly smooth and soft leaves variously colored, ex- 
haling a delightful odor. Stem retrorsely pubescent above, branched. Flow- 
ers white, in simple, terminal racemes. Jl., Aug. + 
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.—Luvs. linear-oblanceolate, tapering to the base, sessile, 
revolute at the edge, the upper ones linear-lanceolate, the highest shorter than 
the calyx; spike interrupted; dracts subulate.—2| Plant 12—18’ high, suffruti- 
cose, branching from the base. Leaves crowded at the base of the branches, 
clothed with a whitish down. Calyx villose. Corolla much exserted 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 inmedicine. Jl. + 
3. PLECTRANTHUS. L’Her. 
Gr. =\nkrpov, a cockspur, aySog ; 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 purple flowers. Natives of hot climates. 
P. parvirtorus. ‘ Sage Geraniwm.”—St. suffruticose, smoothish, branched ; 
rac. compound, terminal, leafless; peduncles 1-flowered, verticillate; corolla 
gibbous.—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. 
Trine 2. MENTHOIDEZ.—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. Canapensis. (M. borealis. Michz.) Horsemint. 
Ascending, pubescent; lvs. petiolate, lanceolate, serrate, acute at each 
end; fis. in axillary cymés; sta. generally exserted.—2| 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. 
alyx hairy. Aromatic like the other species. June, July. 
B. stamens equaling the corolla. 
