22 Dr. Smith's botanical Hi/my of Mentha exigua. 



root being fibrous, inftead of creeping, was very fufplcious ; and 

 this circunfiftance decided it to be no variety of M. Pulcglum, though 

 in fmell no two plants could be more fimilar. Roots were fent to 

 Mr. Fairbairn at Chelfea, and fi'efh fpecimens to Mr. Sowerby, for 

 his Englifh Botany ; but the latter were luckily not in a fufficientty 

 perfeft ftate to be drawn. I fay luckily, for this ill-fated Mentha 

 proves after all to be a non-entity ; a cafual infpeftion of the Lin- 

 nean Herbarium having lately fatisfied me^ that it is neither more 

 nor lefs than Cunila pulegioides. 



Its native country is North America, from whence Kalm com- 

 municated a fpecimen to Linnaeus, now in my pofleffion, and at 

 prefent accompanied by another, probably from Gionovius, refer- 

 ring to Pulegium ereSlum^ odcre vehementi, jiore viobceo, radice nequaquant 

 reptatrice, Clayton. Gron. Fl, Virgin. 8vo, p. 66. This plant in 

 the 4to edition, p. 90, is made a Meliffa, and a defcription is added, 

 which agrees well with our Mentha exigua. It is not however my 

 prefent purpofe to write a hiftory of this plant as Cunila pulegioides ', 

 all I mean now to eftablilli is, that it has no right, under any name, 

 to a place in our Flora A nglica; for there can be no doubt, that 

 its feeds were brought to Mr. Hafell among earth from America, 

 attached to the roots of fome of the plants he is frequently receiv- 

 ing from thence, it having been fought for in vain near Ipfwich, in 

 the places from whence bog earth was brought to his garden. 

 Whether it is really to be efteemed a Cunila^ depends upon its 

 having two ftamina or four. In the latter cafe it maybe a Mentha, 

 a Melijfa, or more probably, from its habit, annual root, and ap- 

 pearance of the corolla, a Satureja ; and Satweja viminea has, like it, 

 the exad fsnell of penny-royal. Cunila is altogether an artificial 

 genus, made up of Thytni, Satureja, &CQ. which happen to have but 



two perfect ftamina. 



VII, Obfer- 



