17 LABIATAE 197 



lobed ; lobes all nearly equal, and spreading. Stamens included. 

 Nutlets adnate to 4 fleshy scales on the margin of the disk. Peren- 

 nials : often suffniticose ; flowers in terminal spikes. 



1. L. VERA, DC. Suffruticose ; hoary; stem leafy below, naked 



above; leaves lance-linear, entire, with revolute margins; spikes 



interrupted. 



L. Spica. Fl. Cestr. ed. 2. p. 112. 



TRUE LAVAXDULA. Garden Lavender. 



Plant clothed with a short hoary tomentum. Stem branching from the base ; 

 branches erect, 12 to 18 inches high. Leaves 1 to 2 inches long, crowded near the 

 base of the branches, often with fascicles of young leaves in the axils. Spike 

 about an inch in length, with 1 or 2 distant cymules below. Corolla blue. 

 Hob. Gardens. Nat. of Southern Europe. Fl. July. Fr. Sept. 



Obs. The compound tincture of this herb (or, as the good ladies 

 term it, "Lavender Compound") is deservedly popular, for its cor- 

 dial and stomachic properties. The distilled water is also highly 

 esteemed for its pungent and grateful fragrance. 



TRIBE 2. SATUREJE X AE. 



Corolla 4- or 5-lobed ; lobes mostly flat, and spreading ; stamens 4, or 2, straight, 

 diverging, or connivent under the upper lip. 



gl. MENTHOIDEAE : corolla with the lobes nearly equal ; stamens diverging. 

 a. Fertile stamens 4, scarcely didynamous. 



2S4. MEUDTHA, L. 



[From Mintlie ; a nymph, fabled to have been changed into the plant.] 

 Calyx campanulate, or tubular, nearly equally 5-toothed. Corolla 

 with a short included tube ; border campanulate, 4-cleft, the upper 

 lobe broader and usually emarginate (being probably 2 united lobes). 

 Stamens nearly equal. Perennials : spreading by creeping rhizomas ; 

 cymules many-flowered, in terminal spikes, or axillary. 



f Cymules in terminal spikes. 



1. M. viridis, L. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, subsessile ; spikes some- 

 what panicled, elongated, tapering upward to a point. 

 GREEN MENTHA. Spear-Mint. Common Mint. 



Smoothish, and rather pale green. Stem 1 to 2 feet high, branching. Leaves 1 

 to 2 or 3 inches long, very acute, incised-serrate. Spikes of cymules 2 to 4 inches 

 long, often numerous ; corolla pale purple. 

 . Hob. Moist grounds. Nat. of Europe. Fl. July. Fr. Sept. 



Obs. This pleasant aromatic herb is extensively naturalized, 

 about old settlements, and is valuable as a domestic medicine, in 

 relieving nausea, &c. It is the species employed in the preparation 

 of that seductive beverage, known as the "Mint Julep" of old Vir- 

 ginia, in which its value is more equivocal. 



a. M. PIPERI^TA, L. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, petiolate ; spikes sol- 

 itary, rather short, cylindric and obtuse. 

 PEPPERY MEXTHA. Pepper-mint. 



Smoothish, and purplish. Stem 1 to 2 feet long, decumbent, branching. Leavci 

 1 to 2 inches long, rather acute, serrate; petioles % to % &a incl1 in length. 



