LABIAT/E. XXVI. MENTHA. 



XXVI. ME'NTHA (Mentha of Pliny. MtvOj,, Minthe, of 

 Thcophrastus. From a nymph of that name, daughter of Cocy- 

 tus, fabled to have been changed into mint by Proserpine in a 

 fit of jealousy.) Lin. gen. no. 713. Schreb. gen. no. 967. 

 Juss. gen. p. 113. ed. Usteri, p. 127. Tourn. inst. t. 89. 

 Benth. lab. p. 168. 



LIN. SYST. Didynamia, Gymnospermia. Calyx cauipanulate, 

 or tubular, 5-toothed, equal, or sub-bilabiate ; throat naked, or 

 villous inside. Corolla with an inclosed tube, and a campanu- 

 late, nearly equal, 4-cleft limb : upper segment broader, and 

 nearly entire, or emarginate. Stamens 4, equal, erect, distant ; 

 filaments glabrous, naked ; anthers 2-celled : cells parallel. 

 Style shortly bifid ; segments bearing the stigmas at apex. 

 Achenia dry, smooth. Herbs. Whorls usually many-flow- 

 ered, sometimes all remote in the axils of the leaves, sometimes 

 approximate into terminal spikes, with the superior floral leaves 

 bractea-formed. The European mints, as is generally the case 

 with plants which are very common in highly civilized and long 

 cultivated countries, especially aquatic plants, vary much in 

 appearance ; and ihe repeated attempts by different authors 

 in different countries to reduce these inconstant and ephemeral 

 variations to so many species, have thrown so much confusion 

 into this difficult genus that it is now almost impossible to clear 

 up the chaos thus produced, ex Benth. 



* Throat of corolla naked inside. 



1 M. LAVANDULA'CEA (Willd. enum. p. 609.) canescent ; 

 leaves sessile, lanceolate-linear, quite entire, clothed with hoary 

 tomentum on both surfaces ; spike dense ; calyxes clothed with 

 white tomentum. 1. H. Native of Spain; on Mount Sinai, 

 Bove ; and of the Cape of Good Hope. M. lavandulaefolia, 

 Pers. ench. 2. p. 119. Stem erect, branched. Leaves 1^ to 2 

 inches long. Spikes solitary, conical at first, but at length 

 somewhat interrupted at the base. Bracteas subulate. Corollas 

 purple. ? Whorls many-flowered. 



Lavender-like Mint. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1823. PI. 1 to 2 

 feet. 



2 M. INCA'NA (Willd. enum. p. 609.) stem humble, panicled ; 

 leaves nearly sessile, ovate-cordate, a little toothed, clothed with 

 hoary tomentum on both surfaces ; spikes numerous, short ; 

 calyxes clothed with villous tomentum. I/. H. Native of 

 Greece, and probably of Persia and Arabia. M. spicata, Forsk. 

 in herb. Vahl. M. Cretica, and M. Persica, Hortul. Stems 

 ascending. Spikes hardly an inch long, panicled. Whorls 

 8-flowered. Corolla twice as long as the calyx, downy outside, 

 purple. ? 



Hoary Mint. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1790. PI. J foot. 



3 M. TOMENTOSA (D* Urv. mem. soc. Lin. par. 1. p. 323. but 

 not of Borkh.) canescent ; stem erect, or ascending, tall ; leaves 

 sessile, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, irregularly serrated, some- 

 what reflexed, plicate, undulately curled, clothed with white 

 tomentum on both surfaces ; spikes elongated, cylindrical, inter- 

 rupted at the base, somewhat panicled ; calyx clothed with 

 tomentose pubescence. 2/.H. Native of Crete, Syria ; Greece, 

 at fountains in the Island of Scyra, D'Urville ; Persia, near 

 Teheran. Stems erect, rarely procumbent at the base, or as- 

 cending. Leaves roundish, or cordate at the base. Spikes 

 numerous, 3-4 inches long, or more. Whorls distinct, many- 

 flowered. Bracteas subulate. Corolla purple, ? downy outside. 

 Fertile stamens exserted. 



Tomentose Mint. PI. 2 to 3 feet. 



4 M. SALI'CINA (Burch. cat. geo. pi. afr. austr. 1372. Benth. 

 lab. p. 1 70.) canescent ; stem erect ; leaves petiolate, lanceolate- 

 linear, almost entire, nearly glabrous above, and hoary beneath ; 



spikes cylindrical. If. . G. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 M. Capensis, Thunb. prod. p. 95. ? Leaves size and form of 

 those of M. lavandulacea, but are nearlv glabrous above. 

 Willowy-leaved Mentha. PI. 



5 M. ROYLEA'NA (Benth. in Wall. pi. rar. asiat. 1. p. 29.) 

 plant clothed with white tomentum ; leaves petiolate, ovate- 

 oblong, unequally serrated ; spikes elongated, slender, inter- 

 rupted at the base. "% . H. Native of Deyra Dhoon, Royle ; 

 and at Simlah. Habit of M. sylvestris, var. hispida. Whorls 

 distinct, numerous, small, globose : lower ones remote. Flow- 

 ers minute, nearly sessile. Corollas small, whitish. Fertile 

 stamens about equal in length to the corolla. 



Royle's Mint. PI. 1 to 2 feet. 



6 M. SYLVE'STRIS (Lin. spec. 804.) stem erect ; leaves nearly 

 sessile, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong, pubescent above, or tomen- 

 tose, but clothed with white tomentum beneath ; spikes dense, 

 or interrupted at the base-, conically cylindrical ; calyx clothed 

 with villous tomentum. I/ . H. Native throughout Europe, 

 North of Asia, and Canary Islands, in ditches and boggy 

 places common. Spikes usually dense, obtuse, but in some of 

 the varieties interrupted at the base. Corolla purplish, pubes- 

 cent outside. Fertile stamens exserted. 



Far. a, mollissima (Benth. lab. p. 171.) leaves clothed with 

 soft white tomentum on both surfaces. 17 . H. Native of 

 Greece, Dalmatia, Spain, Canary Island, Cashmere ; also of 

 England, and Germany, but rare. M. mollissima, Borkh. M. 

 incana, Sole herb. Smith, in Rees' cycl. vol. 23. M. canes- 

 cens, Roth, catalect. 2. p. 46. M. Chalepensis, Mill. diet, 

 no. 10. 



Var. /3, cdndicans (Benth. lab. p. 171.) leaves clothed with 

 short, hoary tomentum on both surfaces. If. H. Native in 

 the same countries and places with var. a. M. candicans, 

 Grant?, austr. p. 330. M. pallida, Nees. M. sylvestris can- 

 dicans, Rchb. icon. bot. 10. p. 28. t. 982. M. sylvestris al- 

 bida, Rchb. icon. bot. 10. p. 28. t. 983. 



Var. y, glabrata (Benth. lab. p. 171.) leaves almost gla- 

 brous above, pubescent and rather hoary beneath. I/ . H. 

 Native of Britain, South of Sweden, Denmark, throughout 

 Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Sicily, Greece, Eu- 

 ropean Russia, Tauria, Caucasus, Siberia, Cape of Good Hope, 

 Teneriffe, &c. M. Rosani, Tenore, fl. nap. append. 5. p. 18. 

 syll. p. 281. M. Eisenstadtiana, Nees. 



Var. S, culgaris (Benth. 1. c.) leaves pubescent above, rather 

 wrinkled, clothed with soft white tomentum beneath. 2. H. 

 Native in the same countries and places with var. y. M. can- 

 dicans, Mill. diet. M. villosa, Sole, menth. brit. t. 1. & 2. M. 

 sylvestris, a, Smith, in Lin. trans. 5. p. 179. engl. bot. t. 686. 

 bad. M. gratissima, Willd. spec. 3. p. 75. M. Niliaca, Willd. 

 spec. 3. p. 7C. but not of Vahl. M. longifolia, Huds. angl. p. 

 221. M. tomentosa, Borkh. M. hybrida, Schleich. pi. exsic. 

 cent. 1. no. 55. ? M. reflexifolia, Opiz, in bot. zeit. 1824. 2. 

 p. 525. M. suavis, Hoffm. ? ex Smith, in Rees' cycl. vol. 23. 

 but not of Juss. M.- Wierzbeckiana, Opiz, 1. c. ? M. ob- 

 longa, Opiz, 1. c. M. Ratisbonensis, Opiz, 1. c. 



Var. t, nemorosa (Benth. lab. p. 171.) leaves ovate-oblong, 

 green and pubescent above, and clothed with loose, white 

 tomentum beneath. 1. H. Native of Catalonia, Italy, and 

 probably of Germany ; Ceylon, Macrae ; Brazil, St. Hilaire. 

 M. nemorosa, Willd. spec. 3. p. 75. M. sylvestris, Sole, menth. 

 brit. t. 3. Oed. fl. dan. 484. M. sylvestris, <$, Smith, engl. fl. 

 3. p. 73. M. rotundifblia, Sole, menth. brit. t. 4. ? but not of 

 Lin. M. Niliaca, Jacq. hort. vind. 3. p. 46. t. 87. but not of 

 Vahl. M. serotina, Tenore, fl. nep. t. 156. syll. p. 281. M. 

 hirta, Beck. fl. fr. 220. ex Fresen. syll. pi. ratisb. 229. and pro- 

 bably of Willd. M. dumetorum, Schuhes, ? ex Rchb. fl. germ. 



