SOME MEDICINAL WILDINGS 



fields pretty much throughout the United States east 

 of the Mississippi and called American Pennyroyal 

 (Hedeoma pulegioides, Pers.). It is pungently aro- 

 matic, from a few inches to a foot tall, with small, 

 opposite leaves nar- 

 rowing to the base 

 and tiny, bluish flow- 

 ers clustered in the 

 upper 1 e a f - a x i 1 s . 

 The plant contains a 

 volatile oil, and a hot 

 infusion of the dried 

 leaves and flowering 

 tops is an old-fash- 

 ioned remedy for flat- 

 ulent colic, sick stom- 

 ach and bowel com- 

 plaints. Then there 

 is the nearly related 

 Dittany (Cunila Mar- 

 iana, L), growing on 

 dry woodland hills from New York to Florida, a 

 perennial plant of about the height of the American 

 Pennyroyal, but with larger leaves, rounded at the 

 base and conspicuously clear-dotted. The herb is 

 gently stimulant, and a tea made of it is a pleasant 



193 



DITTANY 

 (Cunila Mariana) 



