CLASS XIV. ORDER I.] MENTHA. 799 



margin usually unequally crenato-serrated, of a grass-green, and 

 rough above, paler and shaggy beneath. Inflorescence terminal 

 conico-cylindrical spikes, mostly with interrupted whorls, the bracleas 

 lanceolate. Calyx small, sub-campanulate, indistinctly striated, the 

 teeth lanceolate, hairy. Corolla about as long again as the calyx, pale 

 pink. Stamens projecting. Seeds small, angular, almost black. 



Habitat. Waste moist places ; not unfrequent in various parts of 

 England ; near Anchindenny, Scotland. " Carlisle Fort, near Cove, 

 Ireland, scarcely wild." Mackay. 



Perennial; flowering in August and September. 



The whole plant is of a pale grass-green colour, and of a viscid 

 somewhat unctuous feel, and has a peculiar acrid odour, which it re- 

 tains many years after it has been dried. The strong aromatic odour 

 of this plant is very grateful to some people, hence it has found its 

 way into our gardens, and by cultivation the leaves sometimes become 

 variegated ; they also retain the smell, and are prized by the curious 

 cultivators. 



3. M. viri'dis, Linn. (Fig. 914.) Spear Mint. Stem erect; leaves 

 lanceolate, acute, smooth, sessile, unequally serrated; spikes inter- 

 rupted ; bracteas setaceous, somewhat hairy ; calyx striated, with 

 lanceolate hairy teeth ; pedicles smooth. 



English Botany, t. 2424. English Flora, vol. iii. p. 76. Hooker, 

 British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 226. Lindley, Synopsis, p. 199. 



/3. crispa. (Fig. 915.) Leaves nearly sessile, cordate, rugose, with a 

 crisped margin, having long irregular sub-awl -shaped teeth, hairy. 

 Mentha crispa, Linn. English Botany, t. 2785. 



Root fibrous, suckers spreading. Stem erect, from two to three feet 

 high, simple, or mostly branched, square, with acute angles, smooth, 

 mostly purple towards the base. Leaves opposite, sessile, or nearly so, 

 lanceolate, acute, with a prominent mid-rib and lateral veins, smooth, 

 or somewhat hairy, a darkish green above, paler beneath. Inflo- 

 rescence terminal spikes, of whorled flowers, more or less distant, with 

 smooth pedicles, and bristle-shaped bractea. Calyx bell-shaped, with 

 lanceolate hairy teeth, sometimes smooth. Corolla about as long again 

 as the calyx, a pale pink, smooth. Stamens inclosed. Style pro- 

 truded. Seeds small, angular. 



Habitat. Marshy places, apparently wild in various parts of 

 England ; Cairn-hill, near Edinburgh, and Glen Farg, Perthshire, 

 Scotland. 



Perennial ; flowering in August and September. 



Spear Mint has a strong aromatic odour, with an agreeable somewhat 

 bitter taste, on which account it has long been preferred for culinary 

 purposes to any other of the genus. It is much cultivated in gardens, 

 and in many parts of the country artificially forced in the Spring, 

 from its being highly esteemed as an ingredient in lamb sauce ; the 



