554 MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



eight bract-like leaves at the same joint ; the flowers are blue, 

 in terminal spikes ; seeds small, black, oblong. 



Ked-flower- Quite distinct from the Common, or Blue- 

 ing Hyssop. 



flowering. The stem is shorter, the plants are 



more branching in their habit, and the spikes more dense or 

 compact ; flowers fine red. It is not so hardy as the White 

 or the Blue Flowering, and is often injured by severe winters. 



This is a sub-variety of the Common Blue- 

 ering Hyssop. 



flowering, the principal if not the only mark 



of distinction being its white flowers. Its properties, and 

 modes of culture, are the same. 



Soil and Cultivation. The plants require a light, warm, 

 mellow soil, and are propagated from seeds, cuttings, or by 

 dividing the roots. The seeds are sown in April ; and, when 

 the seedlings are two or three inches high, they are trans- 

 planted to rows eighteen inches apart, and a foot from each 

 other in the rows. The roots may be divided or the slips set 

 in spring or autumn. 



Use. The plant is highly aromatic. The leaves and 

 young shoots are the parts used, and are cut, dried, and pre- 

 served as other pot-herbs. 



" Hyssop has the general virtues ascribed to aromatic 

 plants, and is recommended in asthmas, coughs, and other 

 pulmonary disorders." Eog. 



LICORICE. 



Glycyrrhiza glabra. 



Licorice is a hardy, perennial plant. The roots are fleshy, 

 creeping, and, when undisturbed, attain a great length, and 

 penetrate far into the earth ; the stem is herbaceous, dull 



