LABIATAE 



MINT FAMILY 



FALSE DRAGONHEAD 



Physostcg'ta virginiana (L.) Benth. 



Not all members of this family look like Mints. Externally 

 the False Dragonhead, for example, reminds one of the Fig- 

 wort rather than the Mint family. Examination of the ovary, 

 however, will always serve 

 to distinguish flowers of 

 these two families, for in 

 Mints the ovary is always 

 4-lobed or 4-parted and 

 the fruit that develops 

 from it consists of 4 nut- 

 lets, whereas in the Fig- 

 wort family the ovary is 

 unlobed and the fruit is 

 a capsule. 



The False Dragonhead 

 grows in wet ground from 

 Quebec to Ontario and 

 Minnesota, south to Florida 

 and Texas. It blooms from 

 June or July to September 

 and often forms conspicu- 

 ous, usually small, patches 

 of color along railroads, 

 since it spreads by slender 

 underground stems. This 

 plant is frequently culti- 

 vated in gardens. 



The rather stout stem 

 grows 1-4 feet high. The firm leaves, in varied lanceolate forms, 

 are sharply serrate, narrowed at the base and acuminate at the 

 apex. The upper are sessile and the lowest petioled. The bracts 

 beneath the flowers are lanceolate and shorter than the calyx. 



A dense spike terminates the stem, bearing many pale purple 

 or rose flowers, often variegated with white. In flower the calyx 

 is cup shaped and the ovate-acute teeth are hall as long as the 

 tube; in fruit it is oblong, not quite one-half inch long, and the 

 teeth are much shorter than the tube. The corolla 2-lipped and 

 I inch long or more. 



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