WEEDS CM' THE MINT FAMILY. 119 



ers in whorled clusters about the spikes at the ends of the stems, and 

 branches; corolla whitish dotted with purple, strongly 2-lipped, the upper 

 lip concave; stamens 4, the upper pair the longer. Nutlets egg-shaped, 

 brown, smooth, 1/16 inch long, the basal scar with a white eye-like cavity 

 each side above. 



This is one of the best known, of the social weeds being very 

 common about the sites of old dwellings, along roadsides and in 

 waste places in rather dry soil. June-Oct. It is a native of both 

 Europe and Asia, and a tea made from its dried leaves is used the 

 world over by old ladies who deal in simples as a mild stimulant 

 and tonic for colic in. infants, hysteria, etc. The flowering tops and 

 leaves have a strong mint-like odor and a bitter taste and are sold 

 by druggists. If gathered for sale they should be collected when 

 the plant is in flower and then carefully dried. The price ranges 

 from 2 to 8 cents per pound. 



The common name was given the plant on account of the old 

 belief that cats "are much delighted with catmint, for the smell 

 of it is so pleasant unto them that they rub themselves upon it 

 and wallow or tumble in it and also feed upon its branches greed- 

 ily." That cats do eat the leaves the writer knows by having 

 seen them, but only the cats know why, and they will forever keep 

 the secret. Perhaps they suffer from cat-colic and eat the catnip 

 as a cure. As a weed on the farm the catnip is spreading both 

 by seeds and rootstalks and it gives the waysides and barnyards a 

 slovenly appearance. Remedies : repeated mowing before the seeds 

 ripen; digging or close hoeing. 



84. Glecoma hedebacea L. Ground Ivy. Gill-over -the-Ground. (P. I. 2.) 

 Stem creeping or trailing, 12-1S inches long, with upright flowering 

 branches ; leaves rounded or kidney-form, broadly scalloped, long stalked. 

 Flowers in loose axillary clusters; corolla blue or violet, twice the length 

 of the calyx, 2-lipped; stamens 4. Nutlets brown, smooth. (Figs. S, /; 82.) 



A common and very pretty trailing herb occurring in shady 



grasslands, especially along bor- 

 ders of thickets, roadsides, fence- 

 rows and in back yards. March- 

 Oct. In rich moist soil it often 

 forms a dense growth of leaves 

 and stems above ground and root- 

 stocks below which crowds out the 

 blue-grass and other forage 

 plants. In such places its leaves 



Fig. 82. o, aflowa;. (After Watson.) remain green all winter and its 



