LVII. LABlATJl* 353 



either all in distant axillary pairs, or, in some exotic species, forming 

 terminal spikes or racemes. Calyx divided into 2 lips, both entire ; 

 the upper one bearing on its back a hollow, scale-like protuberance. 

 Corolla with a rather long tube, and small, nearly closed lips, the upper 

 one concave, the lower one 3-lobed. Stamens 4, in pairs, the anthers 

 of the lower pair 1-celled. Nuts raised on a short, oblique or curved 

 stalk. 



A rather large genus, widely distributed over the temperate and 

 some of the warmer regions of the globe, and easily recognised, either 

 by its inflorescence, calyx, stamens, or ovary and fruit. 



Stem usually 8 Inches to a foot high. Flowers blue, rather large 1. S. galericulata> 

 Stem usually under 6 inches. Flowers pink, and small . . 2. S. minor. 



Some of the Mexican or South American half -shrubby species, with 

 scarlet flowers, are occasionally cultivated in our planthouses. 



1. S. galericulata, Linn. (fig. 796). Common S. A weak, slightly 

 downy perennial, with a slender, creeping rootstock, and slightly 

 branched, ascending stems 8 inches to a foot. high. Leaves nearly 

 sessile, ovate-lanceolate, slightly toothed. Flowers nearly sessile, oppo- 

 site, in axillary pairs along the greater part of the stem, and all turned 

 to one side ; the corolla more than 6 lines long, of a rather dingy blue ; 

 the tube very slender below, considerably enlarged at the throat. 



In wet, shady, or stony places, in Europe, northern Asia, and north- 

 east America, extending from the Himalaya and the Caucasus to the 

 Arctic Circle, but rarer in the Mediterranean region. Tolerably fre- 

 quent in England and Scotland, less so in Ireland. PI. summer. [A 

 hybrid occurs at Virginia Water, Surrey, which unites the characters 

 of this and S. minor.'] 



2. S. minor, Linn. (fig. 797). Lesser S.A very small, and usually 

 more glabrous plant than S. galericulata, with slender stems, seldom 6 

 inches long. Leaves of the same shape, but nearly entire. Flowers 

 shortly stalked, scarcely above 3 lines long, of a pale pink. 



In moist heaths or marshy sands, chiefly in western Europe, more 

 rare in central Europe, extending, however, across northern Germany 

 into Russia and central Asia, but neither a high northern, nor scarcely 

 a Mediterranean plant. In Britain, chiefly in western England, Ireland, 

 and south-western Scotland. Fl. summer. 



X. MELITTIS. MELITTIS. 



A genus limited to a single species, differing from the long-flowered 

 species of Stocky s chiefly by its large calyx, usually 3-lobed, and by its 

 axillary flowers. 



1. M. Melissophyllum, Linn. (fig. 798). Balm. An erect and 

 slightly hairy perennial ; the stems nearly simple, 1 to 1$ feet high. 

 Leaves stalked, heart-shaped, and coarsely toothed, about 2 inches long. 

 Flowers pink, or variegated with white and purple, in axillary whorls of 

 2 to 6, shorter than the leaves. Calyx of a thin texture, broadly cam- 

 panulate, with 3 broad, rounded lobes, of which the upper one is some- 

 times 2- or 3-toothed. Corolla with a broad tube, near an inch long: ; 

 the upper lip thrown back and slightly concave ; the lower lip larg* 



i'. 



