BLUE AND PURPLE GROUP 



Blephilia 



Btephtlia citiata. — Family, Mint. Color, lavender or pale blue. 

 Leaves, green above, whitish and downy beneath, nearly sessile, 

 ovate, narrowing at the base. Hairy, colored bracts under the 

 calyx. Calyx, tubular, 2 -lipped, the upper lip armed with 3 long, 

 the lower with 2 shorter teeth. Corolla, with 2 about equal lips, 

 hairy, the upper entire; the lower 3 -divided, spreading, the middle 

 lobe notched and narrower than the side lobes. Stamens, 2. 

 Two feet or less high. Flowers, in terminal round heads and in 

 whorls around the stem in the leaf-axils. Whole plant rough 

 and hairy. June to August. 



Dry soil, open places. From Massachusetts southward 

 and westward. 



Wood Mint 



B. hirsuta. — Color, pale purple with darker spots. Flowers, 

 with tubular, 2 -lipped calyx and corolla, in whorls around the 

 stem and forming round, terminal heads. Leaves, with long 

 petioles, ovate, rounded or heart - shape at base, pointed; floral 

 bracts linear, shorter than the calyx. Calyx, with long hairs, 

 and whole plant rough-hairy. June to September. 



Deep, cool woods and shaded places throughout the Atlan- 

 tic States. 



Summer Savory 



Satureja hortensis. — Family, Mint. This is the mint familiar to 

 housekeepers, used for flavorings, which has escaped from our gar- 

 dens and become wild in some places. Flowers, purple, clustered 

 in a spike, without bracts, with narrow, entire, small leaves. 



Basil 

 S. 'vulgaris. — Color, pink lavender. A very hairy species, with 

 erect, slender stem, 1 to 2 feet high. Flowers, like the preceding, 

 in dense, axillary and roundish, terminal clusters. Leaves, with 

 short petioles, ovate, pointed, somewhat toothed. June to 

 October. 



Woods and thickets, New England to Virginia and west- 

 ward. 



Wild Marjoram 



Origanum vulgkre. — Family, Mint. Color, purplish. Leaves, 

 petioled, roundish, entire, sprinkled underneath with resinous 

 dots. Calyx, 5-toothed. Corolla, 2-lipped, 4-lobed, the upper 

 lip broad and slightly notched. Stamens, 4, standing well out 

 from the flower. The bracts and stem of this plant often have 

 a purplish tinge. July and August. 



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