423. XCIII. LABIATE. MELISSA. 



terminal. T| Grows on rocks and in dry woods, N. Y. to Ga. and Ark. Stem 

 4-angled, mostly purple, branching, smoothish, 1 2f high. Leaves small, 

 nearly smooth, roundish or subcordate at base, tapering to a point and punctate 

 with pellucid dots. Flowers with subulate bracts at the base of the 3-forked 

 pedicels. Calyx punctate. Corolla nearly twice as long as the calyx, pubes- 

 cent, pale red. Stamens and style much .exserted, of the same hue as the corolla. 

 The herb is delightfully fragrant, and used in febrifugal infusions. Jl. Aug. 



TRIBE 5. MELISSINE^E. Calyx bilabiate; corolla bilabiate; upper lip 

 straight, lower lip spreading, cleft into 3 flat lobes, of which the middle one is 

 often broadest. Stamens 4, sometimes 2, ascending. 

 18. HE DEO MA. Pers. 



Gr. fiSeia, sweet of agreeable, 00-^*7, smell; on account of the fragrance. 



Calyx gibbous beneath at base,- 13-ribbed, throat hairy ; upper lip 

 of corolla erect, flat, lower lip spreading, 3-lobed ; stamens 2, fertile, 

 ascending. 



H. PULEGiolDES. Pers. (Cunila. Linn. Ziziphora. R. <$> S.) Pennyroyal. 



Lvs. oblong, few-toothed ; Jls. axillary, whorled. (p A small, strong-scented 

 herb, held in high repute in the domestic maleria medica. Stem erect, branch- 

 ing, half a foot high. Leaves opposite,with I 2 teeth each side, on very shorl 

 petioles, smooth on the upper surface, roughish beneath. Calyx ciliate, 2 lower 

 divisions spined. Abundant in dry pastures, N. Eng., Can. to Ga. and Ark. 

 Flowering all summer. 



19. MICROMERIA. Benth. 



Gr. fjLiKpnf, small, pepos, division; on account of the slightly 2-lipped calyx and corolla. 



Calyx 13 (rarely 15)-ribbed, 5-toothed, nearly equal ; corolla sub- 

 bilate, tube exserted, upper lip bifidly emarginate, lower subequally 

 3-lobed ; stamens ascending, the upper pair shorter. 



M. GLABELLA. Benth. (Cunila. Michx. Hedeoma glabra. Nutt.) 

 Glabrous ; st. branching above, and mostly surculose at base ; Ivs. entire, 

 those of the suckers elliptic-ovate, of the stem linear-oblong, obtuse ; verticillas* 

 ters about 6-flowered. 7J. A delicate little herb nearly or quite smooth, growing 

 on lime-stone rocks near the base of Niagara Falls ! W. to the Falls of St. An- 

 thony. Rare. It has the general aspect and fragrance of pennyroyal. Stem 

 erect (prostrate at base), 4-angled, slender, 6 10' high. Suckers at the base 

 often numerous and several inches in length, with leaves about 3" by 2", brown- 

 ish-purple beneath. Stem leaves 9 12" long, very narrow, the lowest some- 

 times with a few teeth. Flowers somewhat regular, on pedicels ' long, with 

 linear bracts at the base. Corolla pale purple. Stamens 4, the upper pair 

 much the shortest, all antheriferous. July, Aug. 



20. MELISSA. Benth. 



Gr. name of the bee, from /<A, honey, which is sought in these flowers by bees with avidity. 



Calyx 13-ribbed, flattish above, the upper lip 3-toothed, lower bifid ; 

 upper lip of the corolla erect, flattish, lower lip spreading. 3-lobed, 

 the middle lobe mostly broadest ; stamens ascending. 



1. M. OFFICINALIS. Balm. 



Pubescent ; st. erect, branching ; Jls. in dimidiate verticils, subsessile ; Ivs 

 ovate, acute, coarsely crenate-serrate, rugose ; bracts few, ovate-lanceolate, pe- 

 tiolate. % N. Eng. ! to la. ! found in the deepest forests ! A well known gar- 

 den plant. Stem 1 2f high. Flowers white or yellowish. The plant is a 

 stomachic and diuretic, generally administered in the form of tea. For medi- 

 cinal use it should be cut beibre flowering, which occurs in June and after. J ? 



2. M. CLINOPODIUM. Benth. (Clinopodium vulgare. Linn.') Wild Basil. 



Villose; Ivs. ovate, subserrate; verticils many-flowered, hairy; bracts nu- 

 merous, subulate. 7J. Low woods, Northern and Western States. A common 

 plant, 1 2f high. Stem square, simple or sparingly branched, and, as well 



