MENTHA. XCIII. LABIATE. 415 



TRIBE 1. OCIMOIDEJE. Corolla subbilabiate, the 4 upper lobes nearly 

 equal, the lower one declinate, flat or concave, carinate or saccate. Stamens 

 4, declined. 



1. OClMUM. 



Gr. oa, to smell; on account of the powerful scent of the plants. 



Upper lip of calyx orbicular, lower 4-fid ; corolla resupmate, one 

 lip 4-cleft, the other undivided ; exterior filaments with a process at 

 their base. 



O. BASILICUM. Royal Ocimwn. Sweet Basil. Lvs. smooth, ovate-oblong-, 

 subdentate, petiolate ; cal. ciliate. An exotic from Persia, cultivated. Plant 

 about a foot high, with peculiarly smooth and soft leaves variously colored, ex- 

 haling a delightful odor. Stem retrorsely pubescent above, branched. Flow- 

 ers white, in simple, terminal racemes. Jl., Aug. 



2. LAVANDULA. 



Lat. lavare, to wash. The use of the distilled water of this plant is well known. 



Calyx ovoid-cylindric, with 5 short teeth, the upper one often 

 largest ; corolla upper lip 2-lobed, lower 3-lobed, lobes all nearly 

 equal ; tube exserted ; stamens included. 



L. SPICA. Lavender. Lvs. linear-oblanceolate, tapering to the base, sessile, 

 re volute at the edge, the upper ones linear-lanceolate, the highest shorter than 

 the calyx ; spike interrupted ; bracts subulate. 7J. Plant 12 18' high, suffruti- 

 cose, branching, from the base. Leaves crowded at the base of the branches, 

 clothed with a whitish down. Calyx villose. Corolla much exserted and of a 

 lilac color. The plant is well kno'wn as an aromatic of a delightful fragrance. 

 It is stimulant and tonic, and the oil extracted by distillation enters into many 

 compositions in medicine. Jl. 



3. PLECTRANTHUS. L'Her. 



Gr. -K\r)KTpovj a cockspur, avSos ', from the spur-like appendage of the corolla. 



Calyx upper lip largest ; cor. resupinate, ringent, with the tube 

 gibbous or spurred on the upper side at base. Half shrubby plants, 

 with purple flowers. Natives of hot climates. 



P. PARVIFLORUS. " Sage Geranium." St. suffruticose, smoothish, branched ; 

 roc. compound, terminal, leafless ; peduncles 1-flowered, verticillate ; corolla 

 gibbous. S. America. Sometimes seen in house cultivation and called Sage 

 Geranium! It is a large, coarse plant. 2 3f high, with large, soft, ovate, cre- 

 nate leaves, and terminal racemes of very delicate bluish-purple flowers. 



TRIBE 2. MEXTHOIDEJE. Corolla somewhat campanulate or funnel- 

 form ; tube scarcely exserted, limb subequally 4 5-lobed. Stamens 4, some- 

 times 2, distant, straight, diverging. 



4. MENTHA. 



Mintha, the daughter of Cocytus, is fabled to have been changed into one of these plants. 



Calyx equally 5-toothed ; cor. nearly regular, 4-cleft, the broadest 

 segment emarginate ; sta. 4, straight, distant ; anth. cells parallel ; 

 filaments naked. 



1. M. CANADENSIS. (M. borealis. Michx.} Horsemint. 



Ascending, pubescent; Ivs. petiolate, lanceolate, serrate, acute at each 

 end; fls. in axillary cymes; sta. generally exserted. 7J. Can. to Ky. and Penn. 

 An herbaceous, grayish plant, 1 2f high, growing in muddy situations. The 

 stem is square and usually branched, the angles beset with reversed hairs. 

 Leaves serrate, on opposite, downy footstalks, and punctate with resinous dots 

 at each end. Flowers apparently in whorls, pale purple, usually distinguished 

 by the projecting stamens which are sometimes twice as long as the corollas. 

 Calyx hairy. Aromatic like the other species. June, July. 

 0. stamens equaling the corolla. 



