CHAPTER XVI 



FAMILY LABIATE 



THIS family contains numerous plants which are 

 of very slight economic importance. If grown at all, 

 they are cultivated on a very small scale, and sold 

 for condiments. Many of them are tropical or 

 semi-tropical, but most of them could be grown in 

 frames or indoors. The following is a list of plants 

 which belong to the Labiatae: Balm, catnip, clary, 

 horehound, hyssop, lavender, mint, peppermint, 

 pennyroyal, rosemary, sage, spearmint, summer 

 savory, sweet basil, and sweet marjoram. Of all 

 these hosts, peppermint and spearmint alone are 

 extensively grown in the United States. The vola- 

 tile oil distilled from these plants is the principal 

 marketable product, although there is also a limited 

 demand for the dried herb, especially the spearmint, 

 which is used as a culinary herb for flavoring sauces 

 and cooling drinks. Of recent years, these herbs 

 have come into extensive use for flavoring chewing 

 gum and confectionery. The United States, Japan, 

 Russia, Germany, and England produce all of the 

 peppermint and spearmint oils. Fleet x has estimated 



1 Fleet, W. V., U. S. Dcpt. of Agr. Farm. Bui. 694 : 1-12, 1915. 



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