56 



LABIATE. 



Mentha. 



1. Mentha viridis, Linn. Spearmint. 



Stem erect, smooth ; leaves nearly sessile, ovate-lanceolate, unequally serrate, smoothish ; 

 flowers in a verticillate slender spike , the whorls approximated, or the lower ones rather 

 remote ; teeth of the calyx and bracts hairy. — Engl. bot. t. 2424 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 234 ; 

 Torr. compend. p. 233 ; Beck, bot. p. 272 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 339 ; Benth. Lab. p. 173. 

 M. tenuis, Michx. fl. 2. p. 2 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 405 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 72. 



Root perennial, creeping. Stem 1-2 feet high, branching. Leaves 1^-3 inches long, 

 sharply serrate, sometimes a little pubescent underneath. Spikes numerous, forming a sort 

 of panicle, 2-4 inches long, tapering to a point. Bracts subulate, with a bristle-like point. 

 Calyx usually smoothish, except the hispid teeth. Corolla pale purple. Stamens mostly 

 shorter than the corolla, but sometimes exserted. Style much exserted, a little cleft at the 

 summit. 



Wet meadows, particularly along the margin of brooks ; common. Introduced from Europe, 

 but now perfectly naturalized. July - August. This plant has long been a popular remedy 

 for flatulence ; and is too well known throughout the country as an ingredient of intoxicating 

 juleps. 



2. Mentha piperita, Linn. Peppermint. 



Stem smooth ; leaves petiolate, ovate-oblong, acute, serrate, smoothish ; spikes oblong ; 

 pedicels and base of the calyx smooth ; calyx-teeth hispid. — Linn. sp. 2. p. 576 ; Engl. bot. 

 t. 687 ; Beck, bot. p 272 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 339 ; Benth. Lab. p. lib. 



Root perennial. Stem ascending, branching, mostly of a purplish color. Leaves 1-2 

 inches long, dark green, rounded at the base ; the petioles 2-3 lines long. Spikes about an 

 inch long, composed of few whorls. Bracts linear-lanceolate, hispid. Corolla pale purple. 

 Stamens mostly included. Style exserted. 



Moist grounds, and shores of rivers. Banks of the Hudson, particularly in the Highlands ; 

 also in the western counties. Introduced from Europe, but rarer than the preceding. Its 

 odor and other properties are known to every one. 



3. Mentha Canadensis, Linn. Canadian Mint. 



Stem ascending, pubescent ; leaves oval-lanceolate, petiolate, serrate, acute at each end ; 

 whorls globose, many-flowered, remote; bracts linear - lanceolate, as long as the calyx; 

 stamens exserted. — Linn. sp. 2. p. 577 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 405 ; Torr. compend. p. 233 ; 

 Beck, bot. p. 272 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 340 ; Benth. Lab. p. 181. M. borea'is, Michx. 

 fl. 2. p. 2 ; Pursh, I. c. ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 234 ; Torr. compend. I. c. ; Beck, bot. I. c. 



Plant of a grayish green color, with an odor resembling that of Pennyroyal (Hedeoma 

 pulegioides). Stem 1-2 feet high, retrorsely hairy or pubescent and white on the angles, 



