LABIATE. XLIX. MELISSA. 



781 



smooth. Under shrubs, but usually herbs, with variable inflo- 

 rescence. Flowers purplish, white or yellow. 



SECT. I. CALAMI'NTHA (from coAoc, kalos, beautiful ; and 

 fiivQa, mintha, mint ; in reference to the beauty of the plants and 

 their affinity to Mintha.) Benth. lab. p. 386. Calamintha, 

 Mcench. meth. 408. Racemes loose, rather secund. Cymes of 

 whorls, pedunculate, dichotomous. Bracteas minute. Calyx 

 almost terete, striated, hardly gibbous at the base: throat vil- 

 lous inside. 



1 M. INCA'NA (Benth. lab. p. 386.) herbaceous or suffruticose 

 at the base, procumbent ; branches ascending, clothed with hoary 

 tomentum ; leaves petiolate, small, orbicular, almost entire, 

 clothed with hoary tomentum on both surfaces ; racemes rather 

 secund ; whorls few-flowered ; cymes hardly dichotomous ; ca- 

 lyxes shortly bilabiate, and the throat naked inside ; corolla 

 hardly twice as long as the calyx. I/. H. Native of the Gre- 

 cian Archipelago, frequent, and about Athens ; also of Syria, 

 near Aleppo. Melissa, Cretica, Russel, nat. hist. alep. but not of 

 Lin. Thymus incanus, Sibth. et Smith, fl. graec. 6. p. 62. t. 

 577. This species is intermediate between Melissa and Micro- 

 meria. Upper whorls dense ; lower ones more loose. 



Hoary Balm. PI. i to 1 foot. ? 



2 M. ? CRE'TICA (Lin. spec. p. 828.) herbaceous, humble, 

 procumbent at the base ; branches ascending, pilosely hispid ; 

 leaves petiolate, small, roundish, obtuse, almost quite entire, 

 clothed with soft villi on both surfaces ; racemes sub-secund ; 

 cymes scarcely dichotomous, few-flowered ; calyx shortly bilabi- 

 ate, the throat villous inside ; corolla scarcely twice as long as the 

 calyx. Ti . H. Native of Candia. Th^rnus hirtus, Sieb. pi. exs. but 

 not of others. Barr. icon. t. 1166. Bauh. hist. 3. p. 230. f. 

 2. Park, theatr. p. 36. t. 37. f. 4. Allied to M. incana, but 

 differs in the stem and leaves being villous, not tomentose. Co- 

 rolla white, purplish. ? 



Cretan Balm. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1596. Shrub \ to 1 

 foot. 



3 M. THYMIFO'LIA (Benth. lab. p. 386.) stems herbaceous, as- 

 cending, clothed with hoary pubescence ; leaves petiolate, ovate, 

 obtuse, hardly crenated, cuneated at the base or rounded, rather 

 canescent ; racemes loose, secund ; cymes dichotomous ; flowers 

 small ; calyx shortly bilabiate, with acute teeth ; corolla about 

 twice as long as the calyx. T|. H. Native of Carniola, on 

 rocks and old walls. Satureia thymifblia, Scop. fl. earn. 1. p. 

 428. ex. Host. Calamintha thymifolia, Host, fl. austr. 2. p. 

 132. Thymus origanifolius, Vis. in bot. zeit. 1830. 1. p. 15. 

 It appears intermediate between Micromeria marifolia and Me- 

 lissa Nepeta. Leaves hardly | an inch long, sometimes quite 

 entire, full of glandular dots, canescent beneath from tomentum. 

 Corolla pale purplish : upper lip emarginate. 



Thyme-leaved Balm. PI. 1 foot. 



4 M. GLANDULOSA (Benth. lab. p. 387.) stems herbaceous ; 

 branches almost glabrous ; leaves petiolate, broad-ovate, acut- 

 ish, coarsely serrated, rounded at the base, nearly glabrous ; ra- 

 cemes very loose, few-flowered, secund; cymes dichotomous: 

 calyx bilabiate, with acute teeth ; corolla hardly larger than the 

 small calyx, y.. H. Native of Corsica, Requien ; of Sardinia, 

 Moris. Thymus glandulosus, Req. in ann. sc. nat. par. 5. p. 

 386. Branches slender, slightly downy. Throat of calyx closed 

 by villi. Corolla white or pale purple. 



Glandular Balm. Shrub | to 1 foot. 



5 M. NE'PETA (Lin. spec. 828.) stems herbaceous ; branches 

 procumbent, ascending, or erectish, villous ; leaves petiolate, 

 broad-ovate, obtuse, crenated, rounded at the base, villous on 

 both surfaces, pale beneath ; raceme elongated, loose, many- 

 flowered, secund ; cymes dichotomous ; calyx shortly bilabiate, 

 with subulate teeth ; corolla half as long again as the calyx, 



hardly twice as long. I/ . H. Native of the Southern parts of 

 Europe, in dry situations, among rubbish, and by way-sides ; as 

 in the South of France, Portugal, Piedmont, Naples, Grecian 

 Islands, South of Tauria, &c. Thymus Nepeta, Smith, fl. brit. 

 2. p. 642. engl. bot. t. 1414. Hook, fl. lond. vol. 1. with a 

 figure. Calamintha parviflora, Lam. fl. fr. 2. p. 396. Cala- 

 mintha trichotoma, Mcench. meth. p. 409. Thymus diffusus, 

 Hortul. Thymus Brauneanus, Hoppe. Calamintha rotundifo- 

 lia, Host, fl. austr. 2. p. 131. Calamintha obliqua, Host, fl. 

 austr. 2. p. 131. Calamintha Nepeta, Hoffm. et Link, fl. port. 

 Calamintha canescens, Presl, fl. sic. p. 37. Melissa obtusifolia, 

 Pers. ench. 2. p. 122. Black, herb. t. 167. Riv. mon. t. 47. 

 Lob. icon. t. 513. Leaves -J to 1 inch long, deep green above, 

 and hoary beneath. Throat of calyx bearded. Corolla white and 

 pale purple. The plant has a strong aromatic smell, approach- 

 ing to that of pennyroyal, and a moderately pungent taste, some- 

 what like spearmint, but warmer. Infusions of the leaves were 

 given as tea in weaknesses of the stomach, flatulent cholics, &c. 



Var. (3, Athonica (Benth. lab. p. 387.) more humble and more 

 glabrous ; leaves greener. "%.. H. Native of Mount Athos. 

 Thy'mus Athonicus, Bernh. ex Rchb. pi. germ. exc. p. 329. 

 under no. 2242. Calamintha Athonica, Rchb. 1. c. Melissa 

 Atheos, Hortul. 



Cat-mint Balm or Field Balm. Fl. July, Oct. England. PI. 

 1 to 1^ foot. 



6 M. CALAMI'NTHA (Lin. spec. p. 827.) stems herbaceous ; 

 branches ascending, villous ; leaves petiolate, broad-ovate, blunt- 

 ish, serrately crenated, rounded or truncated at the base, green 

 on both surfaces, villous ; raceme loose, secund ; cymes very 

 loose, subdichotomous, few-flowered ; calyx distinctly bilabiate, 

 with subulate teeth : lower teeth elongated ; corolla more than 

 twice as long as the calyx. TJ. . H. Native of Middle and 

 South Europe, and Middle Asia ; as of England, France, Ger- 

 many, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Armenia, and Siberia, &c., 

 on hills and in open woods. Thymus Calamintha, Scop. fl. earn, 

 ed. 2d. no. 733. Smith, engl. bot. t. 1676. Calamintha mon- 

 tana, Lam. fl. fr. 2. p. 396. Cal. officinalis, Mcench. meth. 

 409. Cal. menthaefolia, Host, fl. austr. 2. p. 129. Thymus 

 umbrosus, Spreng. cent. pi. min. cogn. p. 41. T. moschatel- 

 lus, Poll. fl. veron. p. 15. ex Poir, supp. 5. p. 304. Cal. 

 umbrosa, Rchb. fl. germ. exc. p. 329. ? exclusive of numerous 

 synonymes. Melissa intermedia, Bailing. ? ex Rchb. Melissa 

 umbrosa, of German authors. Cal. vulgaris, Sweet. Melissa 

 foliosa, Opiz. ex unio. itin. Stems more erect and firm than in 

 M. Nepeta. Leaves larger, usually an inch and a half long. 

 Flowers fewer. Calyx twice the size, and more deeply bilabiate. 

 Corolla red, marked with deeper spots. 



Var. ft, villosissima (Benth. lab. p. 388.) plant more villous ; 

 leaves smaller, but the calyx and corolla are about the same size. 

 1. H. Native of Spain and the Canary Islands. Thymus cala- 

 minthoides, Rchb. fl. lus. mad. exsic. 



CaUtmint or Mountain Balm. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. England. 

 PI. | to 1J foot. 



SECT. II. CALOMELI'SSA (from icaXoe, kalos, beautiful, and pi- 

 \iaaa, melissa,'& bee, also the name given to balm ; so called 

 on account of the beauty of the plants.) Benth. lab. p. 388. 

 Whorls many-flowered, nearly equal, condensed. Bracteas ovate 

 or oblong. Throat of calyx villous inside. 



7 M. CAROLINIA'NA (Benth. lab. p. 388.) herbaceous, gla- 

 brous ; leaves petiolate, ovate, obtuse, a little crenated, narrowed 

 at the base ; whorls nearly equal, many-flowered, condensed ; 

 corolla twice as long as the calyx. %. H. Native of Carolina, 

 Georgia ; and Louisiana, at 4 Covington. Thy'mus Carolinianus, 

 Michx. fl. bor. amer. 2. p. 9. Calamintha Caroliniana, Sweet, 

 hort. brit. p. 409. Cal. grandiflora, Pursh, fl. amer. sept. 2. p. 



