LAMIACEjE. *&oi 



Order 78.— LAMIACE^E.— Lindley. 



Calyx inferior, tubular, persistent, 5 — 10-toothed, or irregularly bilabiate. Corolla mo- 

 nopetalous, hypogynous, bilabiate, the upper lip undivided or bifid, the lower larger and 

 3-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous, inserted on the corolla, alternate with the lobes of the 

 lower lip, 2 upper stamens often abortive; anthers 2-celled. Ovary 4-lobed, placed on a 

 fleshy hypogynous disk, each lobe with a single ovule ; style solitary, arising from base 

 of ovary ; stigma bifid, usually acute. Fruit 1 — 4 small nuts or achenia, included in the 

 persistent calyx. Seeds erect, with little or ho albumen ; embryo erect. 



An exceedingly large order of herbaceous or suffruticose plants, with quad- 

 rangular stems, and opposite branches and leaves ; the latter simple or 

 divided, exstipulate and studded with vesicles, containing an aromatic oil. 

 They principally abound in temperate climates. They are, in all cases, des- 

 titute of any poisonous properties, and are generally fragrant and aromatic, 

 and hence are used as stimulants, carminatives, sudorifics, &c, and also as 

 kitchen herbs for flavouring sauces; some few are astringent. A substance 

 resembling camphor is obtained from the volatile oil, afforded by most of the 

 species, but most plentifully from that of Rosemary. 



Lavandula. — Linn, 



Calyx tubular, nearly equal, thirteen or rarely fifteen-ribbed, shortly 5-toothed, with 

 the four lower teeth nearly equal, or the two lower narrower ; the upper either but little 

 broader than the lateral ones, or expanded into a lateral appendage. Upper lip of corolla 

 2-lobed ; lower 3-lobed ; all the divisions nearly equal. Stamens didynamous, declining. 

 Filaments smooth, distinct, not toothed. Anthers reniform, 1 -celled. 



A small genus of odoriferous, suffruticose plants, with narrow, rigid leaves, 

 and small whitish flowers; mostly natives of the south of Europe. Several 

 species are employed, and some confusion has existed as regards the nomen- 

 clature of the officinal one, as under the name of L. spica Linnseus included 

 two plants now considered as distinct species, one with narrow, the other with 

 broader leaves ; the first of these is the true spica of Linnseus, and the second 

 the latifolia of Desfontaines. De Candolle has bestowed on the first the name 

 of vera, leaving to the latter that of spica, and this view of the subject has 

 been adopted by most late writers on vegetable Materia Medica, with the ex- 

 ception of Merat and De Lens [Diet. Mat. Med. iv. 71), who retain the name 

 of spica for the narrow-leaved, and give that of vera to the broad-leaved. In 

 the following account the views of De Candolle are adopted, though there is 

 much reason to believe that he has given the name of vera to the true spica 

 of Linnaeus. 



L. vera, De Candolle. — Leaves oblong, linear or lanceolate, quite entire, when young 

 hoary and revolute on the edges. Spikes interrupted. Whorls of six to ten flowers. 

 Floral leaves rhomboid-ovate, acuminate, membranous. Bracts scarcely any. 



De Candolle, Fl. Fr. Sup. 398; Bentham, Labiat, 148; Lindley, Fl. 

 Med. 485; L. spica, Linn,, Sp. Fl. 800 ; Woodville, t. 114; Stephenson 

 and Churchill, i. 40. 



Common Name. — Lavander or Lavender. 



Foreign Names. — Lavende Commune, Fr. ; Lavandola, It.; Lavandel 

 Blumen, Ger. 



Description. — Shrubby, much branched, from one to two feet high ; bark of the stem 



