316 JjABIATjE. [Mentha. 



Wet places, naturalized in England and Scotland, rare ; possibly indigenous 

 in W. York ; fl. Aug.-Sept. — Probably a cultivated form of M. sylves'tris, 

 easily distinguished by its pungent smell. — Distbib. Cultivated for culi- 

 nary purposes.— Var. cris'pa is a garden form with crisped foliage. 



ft Leaves petioled. 



3. M. piperita, Huds. ; glabrous, leaves ovate or oblong-lanceolate 

 acute serrate upper smaller, spikes cylindric interrupted below, pedicels 

 and flowers glabrous or very sparingly hispid. Peppermint. 



Damp places, from the Clyde and Forfar to Sussex and Cornwall ; Ireland ; 

 (a doubtful native, Wats.); fl. Aug.-Sept. — Usually smaller and more 

 slender than the preceding. Leaves 1-4 in., acute or obtuse at the base, 

 coarsely serrate, smooth above, rarely sparingly hairy on the nerves beneath 

 uppermost sometimes bracteiform. Calyx often red. — Distrib. Europe ; 

 introd. in America. Nowhere indigenous, Nyman. — Probably a garden 

 form of M. aquatica, Bentham. 



Two forms occur : M. officinalis, Hull ; leaves acute or rounded at the base, 

 spikes elongate, and M. vulga'ris, Sole ; leaves rounded or subcordate at the 

 base, spikes shorter. 



4. M. aquatica, L. ; usually softly hairy, leaves ovate-oblong or 

 cordate, upper bracteiform, spikes oblong continuous or interrupted below, 

 pedicels and flowers usually hairy or villous. 



River-sides, marshes, N. to Orkney, &c, ascends to 1,500 ft. in Yorkshire; 

 Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. Aug.-Sept. — Very common and variable ; 

 some forms are with difficulty distinguished from M. sati'va. Stem 1-5 ft. 

 Leaves 1-3 in. Spikes f-1 in. diam., long or short, usually stout. Flowers 

 lilac or purplish. Bracts and bracteoles lanceolate-subulate. Calyx-teeth 

 slender. — Distrib. Europe, N. Africa, N. and W. Asia ; introd. in America. 



M. aquat'ica proper ; leaves ovate rounded or subcordate at the base serrate 

 more or less hairy on both surfaces, spikes axillary and terminal ovoid or 

 subglobose, calyx-teeth ^-§ the length of the tube. M. hirsuta, L. 

 Common. — M. hirsu'ta proper ; leaves tomentose on both surfaces, calyx 

 pedicels and corolla hairy. Var. M. subgla'bra, Baker ; leaves narrower 

 glabrous except on the nerves beneath, calyx pedicels and corolla hairy. — 

 Var. M. citra'ta, Ehrh. (Bergamot Mint) ; leaves glabrous on both surfaces, 

 calyx pedicels and corolla glabrous. Staffordshire, "Wales, &c, rare. 



Sub-sp. M. pubes'cens, Willd. ; leaves ovate-oblong or lanceolate pubescent 

 above tomentose or woolly beneath sharply serrate, spikes cylindric stout 

 dense, calyx-teeth § the length of the tube. Mid. and S. England only. — 

 Var. M. palus'tris, Sole ; leaves ovate-oblong tomentose above woolly 

 beneath. — Var. M. hirci'na, Hull; leaves ovate-oblong green and sub- 

 glabrous above hairy beneath. 



** Whorls in axillary clusters, shorter than the leaves ; bracts f oliaceous. 

 Throat of calyx glabrous. 



5. M. sati'va, L. ; leaves petioled ovate- or oblong-lanceolate acutely 

 serrate, upper smaller, bracteoles usually shorter than the flowers acumi- 

 nate calyx-teeth lanceolate acuminate £-§ the length of the tube. 



Wet waste places, from Argyll and Elgin southd. ; Ireland ; fl. July-Sept. — 

 Probably a form of M. aquat'ica, distinguished by the inflorescence alone. — 



