LABIATE 175 



C. Acinos Clairv. Field Calamint, Basil Thyme. A branched annual 

 6-9 in. high, slightly downy. Leaves stalked, rather small, ovate-acuminate, 

 toothed. Flowers pale purple or rarely white, small, in axillary whorls. Calyx 

 strongly ribbed, the tube enlarged on underside of the base and contracted at the 

 mouth ; teeth short and acute. The corolla but little longer than the calyx. In 

 England it is often nearly twice as long, but we have not seen that form on the 

 Continent. Nor have we seen it on limestone rocks as usually in England. 



Hill-sides, fields, and uncultivated ground. May-June. 



C. officinalis Mcench, C. ascendens jford., C. nepetoides Savi (in the 

 mountains), and C. Clinopodium Benth. (Hedge Calamint) also occur. 



MELISSA L. 



M. officinalis L. This pleasant lemon-scented herb, with oval coarsely 

 crenate leaves and pale yellowish flowers in axillary clusters, is seen sometimes 

 by road-sides and in shady places. June-August. 



ROSMARINUS L. 



R. officinalis L. Rosemary. Shrub 2-4 ft. high, evergreen, aromatic, 

 much branched. . very leafy. Leaves leathery, sessile, linear, whitish beneath, 

 rolled in at borders. Flowers pale mauve or blue, or sometimes white, in small 

 axillary and terminal clusters. Calyx bell-shaped, 2-lipped, mealy ; upper corolla- 

 lip deeply bifid, lower one 3-lobed. 



Very common on dry hill-sides on the littoral, ascending to Ampus and Grasse 

 and flowering all the year. It is very pleasant when burnt. The essential oil 

 is distilled and used in the composition of Eau de Cologne. 



SALVIA. L. 



S. officinalis L. Common Sage. Probably native in a few places in the 

 Var, but usually only naturalized on the dry hill-sides. May-July. 



S. verticillata L. Whorled Salvia. Plant 2-3 ft. high, branched, hairy, 

 of disagreeable odour. Leaves ovate-cordate, acute ; the lower ones auricled. 

 Flowers pale violet, small and numerous, in dense distant whorls. 



Road-sides and waste places, rare. May-August. 



S. Verbenaca L. Wild Sage. Leaves ovate-cordate, coarsely toothed or 

 lobed and much wrinkled, upper ones sessile, lower ones stalked. Flowers 

 small, blue, in whorls of about 6, forming terminal spikes. 



Road-sides and fields. April, June, and September. 



S. horminoides Pourr. Leaves oblong, coarsely lobed. Bracts shorter 

 than the calyx. Corolla small, blue, in long spikes, upper lip scarcely curved. 

 A taller plant than the last. 



Road-sides and fields, especially on the littoral. April-July. 



S. Clandestina L. Root-leaves deeply toothed or pinnatifid, upper ones 

 sessile. Flowers pale blue or nearly white, in close whorls forming a short 

 spike. Corolla twice as long as calyx, with spreading unequal lips, the upper 

 lip being sickle-shaped. Calyx-teeth almost closed when plant is advanced. 

 The smallest species. 



Borders of fields and roads and grassy places. March-September. 



S. viridls L. is rare near Toulon and Carqueiranne ; S. Sclarea L., S. 

 pratensis L. with beautiful purple or deep mauve flowers, and S. silvestris 

 L. are sometimes seen ; and S. glutinosa L., a sticky species with large dirty 

 yellow flowers, occasionally appears in the montane region. July-Sept. 



NEPETA L. 



Nepeta Nepetella L. and N. Cataria L. (Catmint) occasionally occur, 

 and Ground Ivy (Nepeta hederacea Trev.) is fairly common in the spring in 

 damp grassy places. 



