482 LABIATE. 



calyx very hairy. Damp waste ground, frequent. A 

 strong-scented plant, usually growing in masses, with 

 downy foliage very white beneath, and rather slender 

 spikes of lilac flowers, which are often interrupted below. 

 El. August, September. Perennial. 



2. M. rotundifolia (Eound-leaved Mint). Leaves 

 sessile, broadly elliptical, blunt, much wrinkled, nearly 

 smooth above, shaggy beneath ; flowers in dense, cylin- 

 drical spikes. Waste ground, not common. The spikes 

 in this species are more slender than in the last, the 

 stem is somewhat woody, and the leaves are much 

 wrinkled and remarkably blunt ; the scent is strong and 

 aromatic, but scarcely agreeable. Fl. August, Septem- 

 ber. Perennial. 



3. M. aqudtica (Hairy Mint). Leaves stalked, egg- 

 shaped, serrated, downy ; flowers at the summit of the 

 stem in dense whorls, the highest whorls forming a 

 head. Banks of rivers and marshes, abundant. The 

 commonest of the mints, 1 2 feet high, growing in 

 extensive masses in wet places, and well distinguished 

 by its downy foliage, and whorls of lilac flowers, which, 

 towards the summit of the stem, are crowded into heads ; 

 the scent is strong and unpleasant. Fl. August, Sep- 

 tember. Perennial. 



4. M. arvensis (Corn Mint). Leaves stalked, egg- 

 shaped, serrated, hairy ; flowers in dense, distant whorls ; 

 calyx bell-shaped. Corn-fields, common. A branched, 

 downy plant, 612 inches high, with whorls of small 

 lilac flowers, and a strong unpleasant smell. Fl. Aug., 

 September. Perennial. 



5. M. Pulegium (Penny-royal). Stem prostrate ; 

 leaves egg-shaped, nearly smooth ; flowers in distant 

 whorls ; calyx downy, its mouth closed with hairs. 

 Wet heathy places, not common. The smallest of the 

 family, and very different in habit from any of the 

 others ; the stems are prostrate, the flowers purple, and 

 the whole plant of an agreeable perfume and flavour. 

 It is commonly cultivated in cottage gardens for the 



