ON THE ENGLISH MINTS. 241 
L 
Hull; ]IL piperita, J3oreau, 1919, Wirtgen, n. 66; M. viridi- 
aquatica^ P. Schultz. 
Stem erect, 3 or 4 feet high, somewhat branched below Avith erecto- 
atent branches when luxuriant, firm, quadrangular, slightly hairy, 
often tinged with purple. Leaves all stfilked, the stalks of the lower 
ones ^-f of an inch long, naked or nearly so, the leaf lanceolate, nar- 
rowed or rather rounded towards the base, the point narrowed out and 
acute, the lowest 2-3 inches long by about f of an inch broad, naked 
and dull gveeu above, paler and glandular all over, but only slightly 
hairy upon the veins beneath ; the teeth sharp, fine, and erecto-patent. 
Inflorescence in a loose lanceolate or acutely conical spike, 2-3 inches 
long by about f of an inch broad at the base, the lowest whorls sepa- 
rate and usually the lowest bracts leaf-like. Bracteolcs lanceolate- 
acuminate, abont equalling the expanded flowers, slightly ciliated. 
Pedicels 1 line to 1^ line long, purplish, glandular, but not liairy. 
Calyx also often purplish, the tube about 1 line long and the teeth ^ 
a line, the tube cauipanulate-cylindrlcal, purplish, not hairy, but dotted 
over with prominent glands; the teeth lanceolate-subulate, furnished 
with short erecto-patent hairs. Corolla reddish-purple, about twice as 
long as the calyx, naked both within and without. Nut smooth. 
Scent strong and aromatic. 
Var. 2/ vulgaris, Sole, t. 8. 3/. piperita^ Hull ; M. piperita ^, 
Smith. 
Stem somewhat hairy, petioles the same, leaves broader than in 
var. 1, ovate-lanceolate rounded or even dordate at the base and not so 
much narrowed towards the point, slightly hairy on the upper sitic 
and towards the edge, more so beneath and less glandular, the spikes 
broader and shorter, tending towards capitate or even quite bluntly 
capitate in stunted specimens. Calyx and corolla as in var. 1, but the 
scent not so strong. 
This was known clearly to Hay, but was misunderstood by Linnaeus, 
as both his herbarium and descriptions testify. The true plant is in 
his herbarium, but what he took for piperita is a form of if. hirsuta, 
grown in the Upsal garden, with less hairy leaves and a more pungent 
scent than usual. In the extreme states the two varieties look con- 
siderably different, but they are connected closely by intermediate 
stages. Var. o^cinalis has much of the aspect and habit of M, viridis, 
whilst on the other hand plants occur occasionally respecting which it 
