Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 293 



GROUND IVY; GILL-OVER-THE-GROUND (Nep- 



eta hederacea) (EUROPEAN) is a beautiful little 

 trailing mint that grows very profusely about country 

 houses, where it has escaped at some time from culti- 

 vation. It is very inconspicuous and lowly in its 

 habits, so that it is very apt to escape notice even 

 when it is in flower. Its stems are weak and pro- 

 cumbent; it frequently strikes root from the stem at 

 the angles of the leaves so that it may trail over the 

 ground for a long distance from the parent root. The 

 upright flowering stems, given off from this creep- 

 ing one, rarely exceed eight inches in height. 



The leaves rise from the stem in pairs; they are 

 round, with a heart-shaped bases, the edge cut into 

 rounded lobes, and their whole surface is downy and 

 veiny. The pretty little purple flowers grow in small 

 clusters from the axils of the leaves. The upper 

 lip is erect and slightly notched; the lower one has 

 three spreading lobes and is spotted with dark pur- 

 ple. 



Depending upon the amount of light and moisture 

 received, the stems and leaves vary greatly in color 

 from green to a purplish-red. Ground ivy is found 

 in blossom from May to July throughout the eastern 

 half of our country. 



CATNIP (Nepeta Cataria) (EUROPEAN) is a very 

 common mint, introduced from Europe, the aromatic 

 foliage of which has a very peculiar attraction for 

 all members of the feline race. It apparently has an 

 intoxicating effect upon them; after eating the leaves 

 they will roll about on them for a long time. It also 

 formerly was used for making Catnip tea, a one-time 

 remedy for most of the ills of childhood. The plant 

 has a stout, square hollow stem from 2 to 3 feet tall 

 ard is downy, as are the sage green, toothed leaves. 

 The lilac-white flowers are clustered on peduncles 

 from the axils of the leaves. Catnip is common 

 throughout our range. 



