D1DYXAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA 351 



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Hub. Dry, slaty soils; old fields, &c. frequent. Fl July-August. Fr. Sept. 

 Obs. This is warmly aromatic; and the infusion is a deservedly popular dia- 

 phoretic, carminative, *c. It is the only species of the genus, as now constituted' 

 known in the U. States. 



282. MELISSA. L. Mutt. Gen. 513. 

 [Greek, Melissa, a bee ; the flowers being much sought by that insect.] 



Calyx tubular, 13-ncrved, bilabiate; upper lip mostly spreading, 3. 

 toothed, lower bifid. Corolla bilabiate ; upper lip erect, flattish ; lower 

 lip spreading, 3-lobed, middle lobe mostly broader. Stamens ascend- 

 ing, mostly approximated in pairs at apex ; anthers 2-cellcd ; cells dis- 

 tinct, parallel, finally diverging ; connectivum often thickened. 

 1. M. Clixopodium, Benth. Villose and canescent; leaves oblong- 

 ovate, rather obtuse, obscurely repand-denticulate ; verticils full, many- 

 flowered, depressed-globose ; bracts numerous, subulate, as long as the 

 calyx. Benth. Lab. p. 392. 



Clinopodium vulgare. L. and the Authors quoted in this ivork. 

 Vulgd—WM Basil. Field Thyme. [silvestre. 



Gall. Grand Basilic sauvage. Germ. Der Wirbeldosten. Hisp. Albahaca 



Root perennial. Stem 12 to 18 inches high, mostly several from the same root, 

 erect or ascending, simple, or sparingly branched, hoary-vill<>se. Leaves 1 to 2 

 inches long, and half an inch to an inch wide, tapering to the apex, but rather ot> 

 lusc, uficn nearly entire, green and sraoothish above, canescent and hairy (es- 

 pecially on the nerves) beneath ; petioles 1 fourth to half an inch long, villose. 

 Verticils few, very hairy, mostly terminal, in round depressed heads about an inch 

 in diameter; flowers on short pedicels; bracts subulate, ciliate with long hairs. 

 Calyx hairy; the teeth subulate, and ciliate like the bracts. Corolla pale purple, 

 or rose-colored, pubescent, the tube longer than the calyx. Akenes roundish-oval, 

 smooth, brown. 

 Hub. Dry, sandy banks ; roadsides; frequent* Fl. July— August Fr. Sept. 



Obs. Mr. Dentham has reduced this to Melissa; but it differs much, in habit, 

 from the following. Although extensively naturalized, it is evidently an introdu- 

 ced plant. 



2. M. officinalis, L. Leaves oblong-ovate, rather acute, coarsely 

 crenatc-serrate, rugose, obtuse at base; verticils dimidiate, or secund, 

 loose, axllary ; bracts few, lance-ovate, petiolate. Beck, Bot. p. 280. 

 Officinal Melissa. Vulgo — Balm. Common Balm. 

 Gallice — La Melisse. Germanice — Die Melisse. Hispanice — Melisa. 



Root perennial. Stem 1 to 2 or 3 feet high, erect, branching, more or less pubes- 

 cent. Leaves 2 to 3 or 4 inches long, and 1 to 2 or 3 inches wide, the larger ones 

 mostly obtuse and often truncate at base, more or less hairy, rugose. Floxcers in 

 small axillary pedunculate cymes; pedicels longer than the common peduncle, 

 but shorter than the calyx; bracU few, leaf-like, pilose-ciliate, shorter than the 

 calyx. Calyx dry, hairy ; upper lip truncate, with 3 short acute teeth ; teeth of 

 the lower lip longer, lanceolate, acuminate, ciliate; throat gaping, pilose. Corolla 

 white, or ochroleucous, exserted. 



Hob. Open woodlands ; along roads : not common. Fl. July— Aug. FY. Sept. 



Obs. This has strayed from the gardens, and become naturalized in some neigh- 

 borhoods. It is much cultivated as a medicinal herb,— the infusion being a popu- 

 lar and pleasant drink in fevers. Three or four additional species, as the genus 

 n*w stanJs, are found in the U. States,— one or two of which are believed to be 

 indigenous in the Southern States. 



