LABIATE: i 77 



B. spinosa Lk. -- B. frutcscens Woods = Molucella frutescens /-. 



A small prickly under-shrub, much branched and hairy. Leaves oval, crenate. 

 Flowers white, in whorls at the tops of the branches. Bracteoles very spiny. 

 Calyx hairy, widened at the throat, with 5 spreading sharp teeth and several 

 smaller ones. A very distinct plant, growing in dense masses at the foot of 

 limestone cliffs, etc., in Alpes-Marit. Rare. Not known elsewhere except in 

 the Basses-Alpes and by the Tenda road about Saorge and near Pigna above 

 Bordighera, where it reaches its easternmost limit. 



PHLOMIS L. 



C. herba-venti L. Plant 1-2 ft. high, green, covered with long spreading 

 hairs. Stem herbaceous, much branched. Leaves leathery, large, broadly 

 lanceolate, glabrescent and shining above, pale beneath. Flowers purplish, 10- 

 12 in dense whorls. Calyx-teeth spreading, very sharp, half as long as tube. 



Stony hills and dry fields, occasional. May-July. There are some fine 

 clumps of this on the Plan d'Aups close to the road passing through the village 

 of that name at Sainte Baume. 



P. Lychnitis L. Under-shrub 1-2 ft. high, cottony-felted. Leaves 

 narrow oblong or lanceolate, entire, white felted beneath. Flowers yellow, 

 6-10 in a whorl. Calyx covered with long hairs, the teeth also hairy and less 

 spreading than in the last. Bracts setaceous, rigid, covered with long silky 

 hairs. 



Limestone hills on the littoral of the Var, rare. May-July. 



P. fruticosa L. A stout under-shrub 1-2 ft. high, cottony-felted. Leaves 

 large, oval or oblong, entire, white-felted especially beneath, and strongly net- 

 veined. Flowers deep yellow, handsome, 20-30 in a whorl of which 1-3 appear 

 at the top of the branches. Bracts ovate-lanceolate, hairy. Calyx truncate at 

 top with very short reflexed teeth. Corolla downy outside. 



Dry waste ground and stony ravines, rare. May-July. 



These three species of Phlomis which grow in the Var are the only kinds 

 found in France ; the majority of the genus grow in the Mediterranean region 

 of Western Asia. 



SIDERITIS L. 



S. romana L. A hairy annual. Leaves ovate-oblong, green, with robust 

 teeth. Flowers white or slightly pink, 6 in an axillary distant whorl. Calyx 2- 

 lobed, ribbed, the upper tooth much larger and broader than the 4 triangular 

 aristate teeth. 



Dry, stony places and sandy fields, common on the littoral. April-July. In 

 1913 small plants were in flower in February near Hyeres. 



S. montana L. (rare) and S. hirsuta L. (upper corolla-lip white, lower 

 one yellow) occur sometimes in somewhat similar places, but especially in the 

 hills. Marrubium vulgare L. (White Horehound) is common in waste 

 places near houses, etc. May- July. 



MELITTIS L. 



M. Melissophyllum L. Wild Balm. Plant i-ij ft., coarsely hairy and 

 strongly scented. Leaves large, green, petioled, oval-acute, crenate. Flowers 

 handsome, very large, rose colour, or white blotched with pink, on short pedicels 

 in the axils of the leaves. 



Woods and shady places, especially in the hills. May-July. 



BRUNELLA L. (OR PRUNELLA). 



B. hyssopifolia L. (Plate XXIII). Leaves linear-lanceolate, sessile, 

 entire, ciliate. Flowers deep purple or occasionally magenta, rather large. 

 Calyx-hispid, upper lip with 3 small teeth, the lower lip divided to the middle 

 into 2 finely ciliate lobes. 



Rocky limestone hills and dry pastures, local. May-July. 



