riDint family. 



Hyssop. Hyssopus officinalis. 



Found along roadside banks, near human habitations, during July 

 and August. 



The stalk is 8 or 12 inches high with many leaves and trig little 

 branches ; it is square, tough-fibred, slender, and smooth. The color is 

 light green, inclining to a blue-green, — reddish near the foot. 



The long and narrow leaf has a blunt-pointed tip, an entire margin, 

 and shows only its midrib ; the texture is thick and a little stiff, and 

 the surface is very slightly rough. In color it is a fine gray-green, with 

 a hint of the rich color of the flower. The leaves grow upon the stem 

 in clustered pairs, which occur at right angles to each other. 



The small tubular flower is 2-lipped ; the narrow upper lip being 

 2-cleft, while the wider lower lip is 3-cleft, with its middle and largest 

 lobe cut into 2 scallops. In texture the corolla is fine and thin, and in 

 color it is a deep and strong purple-blue. The 4 stamens, and the pistil, 

 are long, and curve out from the hollow of the upper lip, — they are 

 bright blue, and their tips, at first a rich red, become white as they 

 mature. The small 5-pointed calyx is reddish, with a fine green bloom. 

 The flowers grow in close groups of 3 or 5, in the angles of the leaves, 

 and form an irregular one-sided terminal spike. 



This plant affords a perfect example of color-harmony, with its 

 contrasting absolute purplish-blue corolla, and deep red stamens, 

 brought into unity by the purple-toned green of its leaves. It has 

 a strong and pungent scent. 



Soo 



