MENTHA PIPERITA. 



upper pair being abortive or wanting, situated on the co- 

 rolla tube. Anthers mostly two-celled. 



OVARY. Free, deeply four-lobed, the single style arising from 

 the base of the lobes. 



FRUIT. One - four hard nuts or achenia. 



SEEDS. Erect, with little or no albumen. Embryo erect. 

 Cotyledons flat. 



THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS. 



MENTHA. Calyx equally five-toothed. Corolla nearly reg- 

 ular, four-cleft, the broadest segment emarginate. Stamens 

 four, straight, distant. Anthers cells parallel. Filaments naked. 



Corolla nearly equal, four-lobed, broadest division emarginate. Stamens erect, 

 distant. 



THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



MENTHA PIPERITA. Leaves smooth, ovate-lanceolate, ser- 

 rate, petiolate. Bracts lanceolate. Calyx quite smooth at 

 base. 



Spikes obtuse; interrupted below. Leaves subovate, somewhat glabrous, petioled. 

 Stem glabrous at the base. 



THE ARTIFICIAL CHARACTERS. 



CLASS DIDYNAMIA. Stamens four, two of them longer than 

 the other two. ORDER GYMNOSPERMIA. Seeds naked. Ache- 

 nia four (or fewer) included in the calyx. Corolla mono- 

 petalous and labiate. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



PEPPERMINT is a native of Europe, and has become natural- 

 ized in many parts of the United States. It is a perennial 

 herbaceous plant, and grows in wet and moist places, flower- 

 ing the latter part of the summer. It is occasionally found 

 growing wild along the fences and by-places of the country. 

 In many parts of New England, and especially in the west- 

 ern part of New York, in Ohio, and New Jersey, the plant is 

 largely cultivated for the sake of its volatile oil. All the spe- 

 cies are raised by the same methods, by parting the roots, by 

 offsetting young plants, and by cuttings of the stalks. The 

 cultivators of the plant observe that, to keep up its quality, the 

 roots must be transplanted every three years, otherwise it de- 

 generates into the flavor of Spearmint, Mentha viridis. If 



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