2130 



NEPENTHES 



1 k— V n>kii<M=\ HookcrianaxN. Phyllamphora. G.C. 

 x'\ Courlii. A rari and rather unattrurtiv.- hybr^. O. C. lU. 4. 



.«-N.HooUcrian»x^^ Ph>na„.,hora. C^.^C.^U^., .n3^^ 



N£PETA (Latin, )iorli:ips from Ncpett-..Mi Etni- 

 rian oitv^. LabidUr. This proup inc u.ios catop, grovmd 

 ivy an.l" some other hardy pereniual herbs of the easiest 



"'po^nnitU or annual liorbs, tall an.l erect, or dwarf 

 and more or less trailinp: Ivs. dentate or mciscd, tlie 



2466. Leaf of catnip. 



^457. Catnip. — 

 Nepeta Cataria. 



(X3) 



floral ones like the rest or reduced to bracts, whorls of 

 fls. crowded in a dense spike, or m a loose o-me rard^y 

 few-fid and axillary; fls. blue or white, seldom yellow , 

 caU-xl ^nerved; corolla somewhat 2- ipped , upper Up 

 strkieht or erect; lower lip spreading, :Mobed with the 

 la ge center lobe concave; perfect stamens 4 in pmrs 

 the 2 shorter ones in front; ovary 4-parted. The Renus 

 s placed near Lopanthus and Dracocephalum, and is 

 characterized as follows: calyx tubular, ^hc rn^uth 

 straight or oblique, .^-toothed; stamens usually parallel, 

 ascendine; anther-cells divergent or divancate.- 

 - About 150 species, mostly in tl.e northern hemisphere 

 outside the Old World tropics. 



C^nip is a familiar wee.l near dwellings and bams. 

 Cats are fond of it, an.l catnip tea is a ,.ungent memory 

 w-ith those who have survive.l the era of homely simp es. 

 The seeds of catnip are still ofTere. . Ground ivy (N 

 Lderacea) also grows wil.l in .\merica, and a form of 

 it wUh variegated foliage is cultivated for edging 

 flower-beds or covering banks an.l stones. It is hardy 

 in light well-<lrained soils, but sometimes winter-kiUs 

 in moist soiLs. It is also use.l in va.ses and bii^skets iV 

 he'teracea is a perennial creeping l>lant of e;isy (U turc 

 tn ™oose, rich, fairiy m.,ist soil n .-.ther shade or 

 full sGnlight, but to be luxuriant m the open it should 

 have a moist rootage. It is a vj;r>' rapid grower ami s 

 therefore often trouble.some when panted with oth. r 

 low-growing plants. It is very useful as a ground-cov- 

 ering in shnifeberj- borders and shady places generally, 

 particulariy where it can hang over curbs or edgings 

 or where a good sward cannot be secured. 



A. Blossoms small, rather inamspicvmis. 

 B. Color of fls. white or nearly so. 

 CatAria, Linn. Cat.s.p or Catnep. Cat>iint. Figs. 

 2W> 24fi7. Perennial, dens<-ly downy, pale green: St. 

 rather stout, tall and erect: Ivs. heart-shap.'d, green 

 above, whiti.sh below, crenate, stalked: corolla nearly 

 white, or pale purple, dark-<lotted. Blooms from July- 

 Xov. Eu., Orient. 



NEPETA 



BH. Color of p. blue. 

 Iierleracea Trev (A'. Clechdma, Benth. Glecbma 

 hMv UnnT Gi«..'N.> ivv. Gi...-oveu-t.,i.:- 

 C oiNi). F.K.1.D Balm. I'lg. 24(iS. Pen'mual, hairy: 

 ereV,.ing sts. leafv, making a .lens.' mat: Ivs. roun.hsh 

 more .1. eplv notchcl at tl.e base than .'atnip, and gr«-n 

 n both sides, the floral ones like the others, not re- 

 1 ...a to bracts as in the other kin.ls here described, 

 llJw.-r p..tioles longer than the Ivs,: whorls axil .ary, 

 few-n.l., blue. Nat. from Eu. Asia ( .L.A. 2,^..>7 

 BB 'J-ST O W. 9, pp. 244, 24.';; 1.?, p. 558— Other 

 old vernacular names arc alehoof, cat's-f.)ot, gill, giU- 

 ', gi^"go-bv-the-grouiid, hayhof,., haymaids, hove, 

 tunh.»)f, cree-ping charlie, robin-run-away, g.l-runover, 

 crow-vituals, wild snak.-r.iot, he.lge-mai.ls March 

 Ju e-The green-lvd. form is less cult, than yar. 

 variegata, Hort. (.V. hnlcracca. Trev., var. vanegala, 

 Hort.). 



AA. Blo.fsomti larger, showy, blue. 



B. Lvs. not notched at the base. 



macrantha, Fisch. Erect plant branching, nearly 

 gl"r,"is: lvs. short-stalked, ovate-Uceolate green .m 

 b th si.lcs: cvmes peduncled, few-fld.; fls. 1 m. long, 

 bracts ininute. Altai. B.M. 218.5 (as Dracocephalum 

 sibmcum).-?Tov. by division of underground sts. 



Wnsonii, Duthie. Allied to N. macrantha: h(5rba- 

 ceous perennial, 2-2,12 ft- high: lvs. shortly staked, 

 the uiiper subsessile, ovate-obl.mg, ^/2-'[M m- \"^f' 

 obtuse, crenate: fls. in .listant whorls, short-stalked 

 corolla violet, about 1 in. long, with a slender tube 

 white at the base, curveil and enlarged above. W. 

 China. 



BB. Lvs. notched at base. 



c. Fls. pedicelled. 

 grandifldra, Bieb. {N. meliss^fdlia, Pers.). Height 

 20 in. or more: plant neariy glabrous, green, st. erect 

 an.l branching: lvs. short-petioled, large, long, heart- 

 shape." crenate-margine.1: corolla with upper segm. 

 awl-shaped, much shorter than the violet, hairy lower 

 segm; calyx-lobes long pointed; fls beautiful blue, 

 llnowm in gardens as N. argcntea, Hort., N.grdndis, 

 Hort , N. incana., Hort., N. IcucriMes, Hort. Summer. 

 Caucasus. 



2468. Nepeta hederacea about 

 a tree trunk. 



