710 LABI AT AE (MINT FAMILY) 



* * Leaves incised or pinnatifid at least at base. 



6. L. EUROPAEUS L. Rarely stolon if erous, not tuberiferous ; stem coarse^ 

 more or less villous^ 1 m. or less hii^h ; leaves petioled, ovate, pubescent, coarsely 

 toothed, sinuate or pinnatifid at base ; calyx-teeth subulate-tipped. — Damp or 

 waste ground, Mass to ^'a. (Nat. from Eu.) 



7. L. americanus Muhl. Stem erect, slender, 2-9 dm. high, acutely 4-angled, 

 (jlahrate, freely stoloniferous ; leaves oblong or lanceolate, acuminate, irregu- 

 Ixrhj incised or laciniate-jnnnatijid, the tipper narrow and merely sinuate, all 

 tapering to slender petioles ; calyx-teeth short-cuspidate ; sterile filaments slen- 

 der, conspicuous, with globular or spatulate tips. {L. sinuatus Eii.) — Damp 

 soil, Nfd. to B. C, and south w. 



32. MENTHA [Toum.] L. Mint 



Calyx bell-shaped or tubular, the 5 teeth equal or nearly so. Corolla with a 

 short included tube, the upper lobe slightly broader, entire or notched. Stamens 

 4, equal, erect, distant. — Odorous perennial herbs ; the small flowers mostly in 

 close clusters, forming axillary capitate whorls, sometimes approximated in in- 

 terrupted spikes, produced in summer, of two sorts as to the fertility of the sta- 

 mens in most species. Corolla pale purple or whitish. Species mostly adventive 

 or naturalized from Europe, with many hybrids. (Mii/^77 of Theophrastus, from 

 a Nymph of that name, fabled to have been changed into Mint by Proserpine.) 



* Spikes narrow and leafless, densely croioded; leaves sessile or nearly so. 



•*- Spikes canescent. 



1. M. longif6lia (L.) Huds. (Horse M. of Eu.) Finely pubescent or ca- 

 nescent; leaves ovate-oblong to oblong -lanceolate, acute, sharply serrate, often 

 glabrous above; spikes rather slender, canescently jmbescent. (3/. sylvestris L.) 

 — Roadsides, etc., Ct. to Del., Pa., and O. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. M. ALOPECURoiDES Hull. Dow^iy ; leaves larger, more nearly sessile, 

 broadly oval and obtuse, often subcordate, coarsely open-dentate, more veiny, 

 but not rugose above ; spikes coarser, canescent ; approaching the next. — Damp 

 roadsides, etc., Ct. to N. J,, Mo., and Wise. (Nat. from Eu.) 



•»- -»- Spikes not canescent. 



3. M. rotcndif6lia (L.) Huds. Soft-hairy or downy ; leaves broadly ellip- 

 tical to round-ovate and somewhat heart-shaped, rugose, coarsely crenate-toothed ; 

 spikes slender. — At a few stations, Me. to O. , Fla., and Tex. (Nat. from Eu.) 



4. M. spicA-TA L. (Spearmint.) Nearly smooth ; leaves oblong- or ovate- 

 lanceolate, unequally serrate, sometimes short-petioled ; bracts linear-lanceolate 

 and .subulate, conspicuous. {M. viridis L.) — Wet places, common. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



* * Flowers pedicellate, less crowded in interrupted leafless spiciform clusters or 

 terminal heads, or some in the upper axils ; leaves petioled. 



-t- Calyx {at least the teeth) more or less hirsute. 



5. M. piperita L. (Peppermint.) Glabrous, very pungent-tasted ; leaves 

 ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, acute, sharply serrate ; spikes becoming loose ; 

 calyx glabrous below, the teeth hirsute. — Along brooks, frecjuent. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



6. M. aquAtica L. (Water M.) Pubescent with recurved hairs; leaves 

 ovate or round-ovate ; flowers in a terminal globular or interrupted and ellipsoid 

 head, oftfn with one or more clusters in the axils of the upper leaves ; calyx and 

 pedicels hairy. — Wet places, N. S. to Del., rare. (Nat. from lui.) 



7. M. CHispA L. Glabrous or slightly pubescent ; Zfavps short-])etioled, ovate 

 to orbicular, lacerate-dentate and crisped; spikes narrow ; calyx slightly pubes- 

 cent or glabrale below, — Wet ditches, etc., Ct. to Pa. (Nat. ifrom Eu.) 



