800 LABIATE. (MINT FAMILY.) 



1. P. l«eptosta.cliya, L. — Rich copses, common July. — Plant 2° ■ 

 3° high : leaves 3' -5' long, thin. (Also in the Himalaya Mountains !) 



Order 77. LABIATiK. (Mint Family.) 



Cldefiy lierbs, with square stems, opposite aromatic leaves, more or less 2- 

 lipped corolla, didynamous or diandrous stamens, and a deeply 4-lvbed ovary, 

 which forms in fruit 4 little seed-like nutlets, or achenia, surrounding the base 

 of the single style in the bottom of the jyersistent calyx, each filled icilh a sin- 

 gle erect seed. — Albumen mostly none. Embryo straight (except in Scu- 

 tellaria) : radicle at the base of the fruit. Upper lip of the corolla 2- 

 lobed or sometimes entire ; the lower 3-lobed. Stamens, as in all the al- 

 lied families, inserted on the tube of the corolla. Style 2-lobed at the 

 apex. Flowers axillary, chiefly in cyinose clusters, which are often aggre- 

 gated in terminal spikes or racemes. Foliage mostly dotted with small 

 glands containing a volatile oil, upon which depends the warmth and aro- 

 ma of most of the plants of this large and well-known family. (More abun- 

 dant in the Old World than the New. One third of our genera and many 

 of the species are merely introduced plants.) 



Synopsis. 



Tribe I. AJTJGOIDEiE. Stamens 4, ascending (curved upwards) and parallel, usually 

 projecting from the notch of the upper side of the (not evidently 2-lipped) 5-lobed corolli. 

 Nutlets reticulated and pitted, obliquely attached by the inside near the base 

 * Lobes of the corolla all declined (turned forwards) : stamens exserted. 



1. TEUCRIUM Lower lobe of the corolla much larger than the others. Calyx 5-toothed. 



2. TRICHOSXEMA. Lobes of the corolla scarcely unequal. Calyx 5-cleft, oblique. 



* * Lobes of the corolla almost equally spreading : stamens nearly included. 



3. ISANTUUS. Calyx bell-shaped, 5-cleft, almost equalling the small corolla. 



Tribe II. SATUREIEJE. Stamens 4, the inferior pair longer, or only 2, distant, 

 straight, diverging, or converging under the upper lip : anthers 2-celled Lobes of the 

 corolla fiat and spreading Nutlets smooth or minutely roughened, fixed by the base. 

 * Corolla not evidently 2-lipped, but almost equally 4-lobed. Stamens erect, distant 



4. MENTHA. Fertile stamens 4, nearly equal. 



6 LYCOPUS. Fertile stamens 2 ; and often 2 sterile filaments without anthers. 

 » * Corolla more or less 2-lipped ; the tube naked within, 

 •i- Stamens only 2, distant : no rudiments of the upper pair. 



6. CUNILA. Calyx very hairy in the throat, equally 5-toothed. Corolla small. 



-i- -i- Stamens 4, all with anthers. 



7. HYSSOPUS. Calyx tubular, 15-nerved, naked in the throat, equally 5-toothed. Stamens 



exserted, diverging. 



8. PYCNANTHEMUM. Calyx ovate or short-tubular, 10- 13-nerved, naked in the throat, 



equally 5-toothed or somewhat 2-lipped. Flowers in dense heads or clusters 



9. ORIGANUM. Calyx ovate-bell-shaped, hairy in the throat, 13-nerved, 5-toothed. Stamens 



diverging. Flowers spiked, and with large colored bracts. 

 10 THYMUS. Calyx ovate, nodding in fruit, hairy in thu throat, 10 - 13 nerved, 2-lipped, 

 Stamens distant. Bracts minute Leaves very smalL 



