fIDint Jfamil^. 



Blue Curls. Trichoslema dichotomum. 



Found on dry sandy plains and in open fields, in September. 



The branching, leafy, and erect stalk grows from 6 to 12 inches 

 high ; it is strong and woody-fibred, not noticeably square as is usual 

 among the Mints, minutely hairy, and soft to the touch. Its color 

 is green, reddish near the root. 



The leaf is oval, with an entire margin, and is nearly smooth to the 

 touch. It is gi-een in color. The leaves, on short stems, grow in pairs. 

 They are strong scented. 



The corolla is irregular in shape ; 5-lobed, 4 of which are equal in 

 size, slightly pointed, and erect or bent slightly forward, while the 

 remaining lobe is long, narrow, and down-curving ; in color a deep 

 violet-bliie. The 4 stamens and the pistil are long, pale, or reddish- 

 violet ; the green calyx is 5-parted. The flowers are set on short stems 

 from the ends of the branches. 



The blossom opens in the early morning sunlight. At first the 

 pistil and stamens extend beyond the flower in a long curve, but as 

 the day advances their tips gradually draw inwards until they are 

 brought into the throat of the corolla, and thus become the little blue 

 curl which gives the plant its bye-name ; by three o'clock of the after- 

 noon the curl is completed and the flower falls. Its odor is strong, 

 with a rank resemblance to the Pennyroyal. 



516 



