780 



LABIATE. XLVIII. MICROMERIA. XLIX. MELISSA. 



33 M. ? GRA'CILIS (Benth. lab. p. 830.) glabrous, or clothed 

 with fine down, pale green ; stems erect ; leaves on short pe- 

 tioles, ovate, or the superior ones are ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, 

 flat ; whorls about 6-flowered ; calyxes pubescent, cylindrically 

 campanulate, with lanceolate, acute teeth, which are shorter than 

 the breadth of the tube, and the throat is naked inside ; corollas 

 scarcely exceeding the calyxes, fy .1 F. Native of Van Diemen's 

 Land. Mentha gracilis, R. Br. prod. p. 505. ? but not of Smith. 

 Mentha Diemenica, Spreng. syst. 2. p. 724. This differs prin- 

 cipally from M. satureioides in the broader bases of the leaves, 

 pubescence, and in the calyxes being larger and sessile, and in 

 the throat being naked inside. This species differs from the 

 characters of the genus in the stamens being distant and 

 straight, not ascending. 



Slender Micromeria. Shrub. ? 



* * * Species natives of America. 



34 M. OBOVA'TA (Benth. lab. p. 381.) stem shrubby, divari- 

 cate, much branched ; leaves obovate, obtuse, quite entire, nar- 

 rowed at the base, with revolute margins, wrinkled, canescent on 

 both surfaces ; flowers almost sessile. Jj . S. Native of Ja- 

 maica. Satureia viminea, Lin. aniocn. 5. p. 399. Swartz. obs. 

 p. 220. Satureia incana, Spreng. syst. 2. p. 719. Zygis aro- 

 matica, Desv. in Hamilt. prod. fl. ind. occ. p. 46. Xenopoma 

 obovatum, Willd. ex Colla. hort. rip. p. 147. t. 25. Mentha 

 viminea, &c. Browne, jam. 258. Leaves half an inch long. 

 Corolla about twice as long as the calyx, whitish. Lower lobe 

 of style long and flattened. 



Obovate-leaved Micromeria. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1783. 

 Shrub 2 to 12 feet. 



35 M. NUBIOENA (Benth. lab. p. 381.) procumbent, much 

 branched, hispid ; leaves small, petiolate, broad-ovate, obtuse, 

 quite entire ; whorls 2-flowered ; flowers nearly sessile ; caly- 

 cine teeth nearly equal, acute, and the throat villous inside. J? . ? 

 G. Native of Peru, in rugged places, on the burning mounts 

 Parace and Rucu-Pichincha, and at Surucucha. Thy^mus nubi- 

 genus, H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. 2. p. 316. Habit of Thymus 

 Serpyllum. Stems rather woody at the base. Branches pubes- 

 cent at the base. Corolla about twice as long as the calyx, pu- 

 bescent outside. 



Cloud-growing Micromeria. Shrub procumbent. 



36 M. GILLIE'SII (Benth. lab. p. 381.) procumbent, finely 

 clothed with pubescence ; leaves sessile, oblong, obtuse, quite 

 entire ; whorls generally 2-flowered ; flowers nearly sessile ; 

 calycine teeth stiff, sub-revolute, and the throat rather villous 

 inside, fj . F. Native of Chili, near Mendoza, Gillies. Whorls 

 rarely so much as 6-flowered. Bracteas small, setaceous. Co- 

 rolla quite glabrous, scarcely longer than the calyx ; upper lip 

 emarginate. Lobes of style flattened, at length revolute. 



Gillies's Micromeria. Shrub procumbent. 



37 M. BOLIVIA'NA (Benth. lab. p. 731.) glabrous or clothed 

 with fine down ; leaves nearly sessile, oblong, obtuse or obovate, 

 quite entire, flat ; whorls few-flowered ; flowers nearly sessile ; 

 calycine teeth short, obtuse, erect, and the throat naked inside. 

 T? . F. Native of Bolivia. Nearly allied to M. obovdta, but 

 differs in the leaves being much smaller, flat, and in the calyxes 

 being shorter. Leaves greenish on both surfaces. Corolla 

 smaller than in M. obovata, scarcely half as long again as the 

 calyx. 



Bolivia Micromeria. Shrub. 



SECT. III. PSEUDOMELI'SSA (4-evc)o, pseudos, falsehood, and 

 [icXitrtra, melissa, a bee, also the name of balm.) Benth. lab. p. 

 383. Cymes of whorls elongated, pedunculate, sub-dichotomous. 



Leaves often toothed. European herbs. The species are pro- 

 bably referrible to the genus Melissa ex Benth. 



38 M. PULEGIUM (Benth. lab. p. 382.) herbaceous, ascending, 

 pubescent i leaves petiolate, ovate, toothed, green on both sur- 

 faces ; racemes coarctate, secund ; cymes sub-dichotomous, few- 

 flowered ; teeth of calyx setaceous, nearly equal, and the throat 

 villous inside. 1/.?H. Native of Austria and Hungary. Me- 

 lissa Pulegium, Rochel, del. pi. rar. bannat. p. 62. t. 22. f. 8. 

 Calamintha origani folia, Host, fl. austr. 2. p. 120. Melissa sub- 

 nuda, Waldst. et Kit. pi. rar. hung. 3. p. 296. t. 2C2. ? Cala- 

 mintha subnuda, Host, fl. austr. 2. p. 130. Thy'mus subnudus, 

 Spreng. syst. 2. p. 698. Stems erect, almost simple, hoary from 

 short reflexed pili. Calyx cylindrical. Corolla about twice as 

 long as the calyx, form of Satureia, purple. ? 



Pennyroyal Micromeria. PI. ascending. 



39 M. MARIFO'LIA (Benth. lab. p. 382.) plant hoary, ascend- 

 ing ; leaves ovate or oblong, obtuse, almost quite entire, canes- 

 cent above, and white beneath ; racemes loose, many-flowered ; 

 teeth of calyx obtuse, nearly equal : throat villous inside ; co- 

 rolla about twice as long as the calyx, fj . F. Native of Por- 

 tugal, Spain, Syria, Tauria, Piedmont, &c., in dry rocky places. 

 Melissa fruticdsa, Lin. spec. 828. Melissa Cretica, Lam. diet. 4. 

 p. 79. and of many authors, but not of Lin. Calamintha Cretica, 

 Lam. fl. fr. 2. p. 395. Nepeta Cretica, Dietr. ex Steud. nom. p. 

 521. Thymus Creticus, D. C. fl. fr. 3. p. 564, but not of Brot. 

 Thymus Barrelieri, Spreng. syst. 2. p. 698. Melissa marifolia, 

 Pers. ench. 2. p. 132. Nepeta marifolia, Cav. icon. 6. p. 55. t. 

 576. Bystropogon marifolius, Juss. ex Steud. nom. p. 521. 

 Thymus marifolius, Willd. enum. 2. p. 624. Nepeta serpyllifo- 

 lia, Bieb. fl. cauc. 2. p. 40. cent. pi. ross. 1. t. 28. Nepeta par- 

 vifolia, Hortul. Barr. icon. 1166. Corolla milk-coloured, spotted 

 with purple, more than twice as long as the calyx. Habit of Me- 

 lissa, sect. Calamintha, but the calyx is altogether that of Micro- 

 meria. 



Cat-thyme-leaved Micromeria. Fl. June, Sept. Cult. 1800. 

 Shrub 1 to 2 feet. 



Cult. The greater number of the species of Micromeria are 

 under-shrubs, very few herbaceous annuals. They are too ten- 

 der to stand the open air in this country ; they should therefore 

 be grown in pots, and placed among other Alpine plants, so that 

 they may be sheltered under glass in winter ; but they will grow 

 very well in summer on rockwork, and probably might survive 

 our milder winters in such a situation. A light, rich earth is the 

 best soil for them, and the pots should be well drained with 

 sherds. The seeds of annual kinds may be sown in the open 

 ground in April, in a warm, sheltered situation. 



XLIX. MELI'SSA (from fiiXioaa, melissa, a bee ; from [ie\t, 

 honey : bees are said to gather abundance of honey from this 

 plant.) Benth. lab. p. 383. Melissa Clinopodium and Thymus, 

 species of Lin. and other authors. Calamintha and A'cinos, 

 Mcench. and other authors. 



LIN. SYST. Didynamia, Gymnospermia. Calyx tubular, 1 3-nerved, 

 usually striated, bilabiate ; upper lip generally spreading, triden- 

 tate : lower lip bifid ; throat naked or villous inside. Tube of 

 corolla straight or incurvedly ascending, naked inside, usually 

 exserted ; throat generally inflated ; limb bilabiate ; upper lip 

 erect, flattish, entire, or emarginate : lower one spreading, with 

 flat lobes, the middle lobe usually the broadest, entire, or emar- 

 ginate. Stamens 4, didynamous, ascending, approximate by pairs 

 at apex, or rarely a little distant, lower two the longest : the 

 superior 2 sometimes sterile ; filaments toothless ; anthers free, 

 2-celled : connective often thickened : cells distinct, parallel, di- 

 verging. Lobes of style sometimes equal, subulate, with minute 

 terminal stigmas ; sometimes the lower lobe is elongated, re- 

 curved, flattened, with stigmatiferous margins. Achenia dry, 



