PENNYROYAL. 557 



It should, however, be employed with caution, and is pru- 

 dently administered only when prescribed and prepared by a 

 physician. 



PENNYROYAL. 



Hedeoma pulegioides. 



The American Pennyroyal is a small, branching, annual 

 plant, common to gravelly localities, and abounding, towards 

 autumn, among stubble in dry fields from whence crops of 

 wheat or rye have been recently harvested. The stem is 

 erect, branching, and from six to twelve inches high ; the 

 leaves are opposite, oval, slightly toothed ; flowers bluish, in 

 axillary clusters ; seeds very small, deep blackish-brown. 



Solving and Cultivation. In its natural state, the seeds 

 ripen towards autumn, lie dormant in the earth during winter, 

 and vegetate the following spring or summer. When culti- 

 vated, the seeds should be sown soon after ripening, as they 

 vegetate best when exposed to the action of frost during 

 winter. They are sown broadcast, or in drills ten or twelve 

 inches asunder. When the plants are in full flower, they are 

 cut off, or taken up by the roots, and dried in an airy, shaded 

 situation. 



Use. Pennyroyal possesses a warm, pungent, somewhat 

 aromatic taste, and is employed exclusively for medical pur- 

 poses. An infusion of the leaves is stimulating, sudorific, 

 tonic, and beneficial in colds and chills. 



This plant must not be confounded with the Pennyroyal 

 (Manilla pulegium) of English writers, which is a species of 

 Mint, and quite distinct from the plant generally known as 

 Pennyroyal in this country. 

 47* 



