Voi,. III.] 



MINT FAMILY. 



107 



26. MELISSA L. Sp. PI. 592. 1753. 



Leafy branching herbs, with broad dentate leaves, and rather small white or yellowish 

 axillary clustered somewhat secund flowers. Calyx oblong-campanulate, deflexed in fruit, 

 13-nerved, nearly naked in the throat, 2-lipped; upper lip flat, 3-toothed, the lower 2-parted. 

 Corolla exserted, its tube curved-ascending, enlarged above, naked within, the limb 2-lipped; 

 upper lip erect, emarginate; lower lip 3-cleft, spreading. Stamens 4, didynamous, connivent 

 and ascending under the upper lip of the corolla; anthers 2-celled, their sacs divaricate. 



Ovary deeply 4-parted; style 2-cleft at the sum- 

 mit, the lobes subulate. Nutlets ovoid, smooth. 

 [Greek, bee.] 



About 4 species, natives of Europe and western 

 Asia. 



i. Melissa officinalis L. Garden or 

 Lemon Balm. Bee-balm. (Fig. 3144.) 



Melissa officinalis L- Sp. PI. 592. 1753. 



Perennial, pubescent; stem rather stout, erect 



or ascending, i-2^ high. Leaves ovate, 



petioled, mostly obtuse at both ends, sometimes 



cordate, pinnately veined, coarsely dentate or 



crenate-dentate, i / -2>^ / long. Flowers several 



in the axillary clusters; pedicel shorter than 



the calyx; calyx about 3" long, the teeth of its 



lower lip slightly exceeding those of the upper; 



corolla white, 5 // -7 // long. 



In waste places, thickets and woods, Maine to 

 Georgia and West Virginia. Naturalized from Eu- 

 rope. Plant lemon-scented. Called also Balm-leaf, 

 Honey-plant, Pimentary, Balm-mint. June-Aug. 



27. SATUREIA L. Sp. PI. 567. 1753. 



Herbs or shrubs, with small entire leaves, sometimes with smaller ones fascicled in their 

 axils, and bracted purple flowers in dense terminal or axillary clusters. Calyx campanulate, 

 mostly 10-nerved, 5-toothed, naked or rarely villous in the throat. Corolla-limb 2 lipped, 

 the upper lip erect, flat, entire or emarginate, the lower spreading, 3-cleft. Stamens 4, con- 

 nivent under the upper lip of the corolla; anthers 2-celled, the sacs parallel or divaricate. 

 Ovary deeply 4-parted; style 2-cleft at the summit. Nutlets oblong or oval. [The classical 

 Latin name of the plant.] 



About 18 species, the following introduced as 

 a garden herb from Europe, one of doubtful 

 affinity in Florida, the others of the Mediterran- 

 ean region. 



i. Satureia hortensis L. Savory. 



Summer Savory. (Fig. 3145.) 

 Satureia hortensis L. Sp. PI. 568. 1753. 



Annual, puberulent; stems erect, slender, 

 much branched, 6 / -i8 / high. Leaves linear 

 or linear-oblong, short-petioled, entire, acute 

 at both ends, Yz'-^/z' long, i // -2 // wide; clus- 

 ters 3 // -5 // in diameter, terminal and in many 

 of the upper axils; bracts linear, small, minute, 

 or wanting; calyx about equalling the corolla- 

 tube, somewhat pubescent, its teeth subulate, 

 about as long as the tube, ciliate; corolla little 

 longer than the calyx; stamens scarcely ex- 

 serted. 



In waste places, New Brunswick and Ontario to 

 Pennsylvania, west to Nevada. Naturalized or ad- 

 ventive from Europe. July-Sept. 



28. CLINOPODIUM L. Sp. PI. 587. 1753. 

 [Calamintha Moench, Meth. 408. 1794.] 

 Herbs, or low shrubs, with entire or sparingly dentate leaves, and rather large flowers 

 variously clustered. Calyx tubular or oblong, mostly gibbous at the base, about 13-nerved, 



