MINT FAMILY. 249 



16. OKIGANUM, MARJORAM. (Old Greek name, said to mean rfc/i^ii 

 of mountains.) Natives of the Oid World : swect-herba : fl. summer. 2/ 



O. vulg^re, Wild Maejoram. Old gardens, and wild on some road- 

 sides ; l°-2° high, with small ovate nearly entire leaves, on short petioles, and 

 purplish flowers in corymbed purple-hracted clusters or short spikes ; calyx 

 equally 5-toothed. 



O. Majorana, Swket Marjoram. Cult, in kitchen-gardens (as an ®) ; 

 leaves small and finely soft-downy ; the bracts not colored ; flowers whitish or 

 purplish, with calyx hardly toothed but cleft nearly down on the lower side. 



17. THITMUS, thyme. (Ancient Greek and Latin name) Low or 

 creeping slightly woody-stemmed sweet-aromatic plants of the Old World : 

 fl. small, in summer. Leaves in the common species entire, small, from i' 

 to near ^' long, ovate, obovate or oblong with tapering base. ^ 



T. Serp^llum, Creeping Thyme. Cult, as a sweet herb, rarely a little 

 spontaneous ; creeping, forming broad, flat perennial turfs ; leaves green ; 

 whorls of purplish or flesh-colored flowers crowded or somewhat spilied at the 

 ends of the flowering branches. 



T. vulg^is,. Common Thyme. Barely cult., more upright and bushy 

 than the other, pale and rather hoary ; flowers in shorter clusters. 



18. SATXJRillA, SAVORY. (The ancient Latin name.) Aromatic : 

 fl. summer. 



S. hort^nsis. Summer Satokt. Low and homely, sweet herb of the gar- 

 dens, sparingly run wild W., with oblong-linear leaves tapering at base, and 

 pale or pui-plish small flowei-s clustered in their axils, or running into panicled 

 spikes at the end of the branches. ® ,/■ • 



19. CALAMI'NTHA, CALAMINTH. {Gi-eek for beuutifui Mint.) F[. 

 summer, y, 



§ 1 . Flowers hose in the axils, or above running into racemes or panicles. 



C. glabella. A delicate native hut uncommon species, only from Niagara 

 Falls W. : smooth, with weak stems 5' - 20' long, also with creeping runners, 

 oblong or almost linear leaves, or ovate on the runners, the Loose purplish flow- 

 ers about i' long. 



C. I^r^peta, Basil-Thtme. Nat. froraLu. from Virginia S. : soft-downy, 

 branching, l°-2° high, with round-ovate crenate leaves, small and loose purple 

 flowers, and calyx hairy in the throat. 



§ 2. Flowers in terminal heads or head-like whorls, crowded with awl-shaped bracts. 



C. Clinop.bdium, Basil. Waste grounds and along thickets ; hairy, 

 with rather simple stems l°-2° long, ovate and nearly entire petioled leaves, 

 and pale purple small corollas. ' i ■ ;, ; , , , ... .' 



20. MELISSA, BALM, BEE-BALM. (Old name from Greek for 6ee.) 

 Old- World sweet herbs. Fl. summer, y 



M. officinalis, Common B. Gardens, sparingly running wild ; rather 

 hairy, loosely-branched, lemdri-scented, vvith ovate or fecartely heart-shaped ci'Q- 

 nate-toothed leaves, and yellowish or soon white flowers in small loose axillary 

 clusters. 



21. SALVIA, SAGE. (From the Latin salpo, to save, from its reputed 

 liealing qualities.) 



§1. Wild Sagks o/i^ counirt/, all with blue or partlij lohite corollas., % 



» Upper lip of calyx 3-toothed: lower celt of the anther present but deformed. 



S. lyr&ta. Sandy soil from New Jersey to 111. & S. : l°-2° high, rather 



hairy, with leaves mostly at the root and obovate or lyre-shaped, and a smaller 



pair on the stem ; whorls of flowers forming an interrupted raceme ; corolla 



hardly 1' long. 



