68 



LABIATE. 



MlCROMERIA. 



lobe longest. Stamens all fertile ; the lower pair slightly exserted , the upper shorter : anther- 

 cells oblong, at length widely divaricate. Style almost equally 2-cleft at the summit. 



On calcareous rocks, about the Falls of Niagara ; Goat Island, and on Table Rock. Au- 

 gust. The Cunila glabella of Michaux, which occurs on rocks in Tennessee, differs from 

 the Niagara plant in being much larger ; the leaves all ovate- or obovate-oblong, and toothed. 

 I should have described the latter as a distinct species, had I not received some Ohio 

 specimens, collected by Mr. Sullivant, which connect the two forms. 



12. MELISSA. Linn, (in part) ; Benth. Lab. p. 383. BALM. 

 [ From the Greek, melissa, a bee ; because its flowers are much sought after by that insect.] 



Calyx tubular, 13-nerved, 2-lipped : upper lip mostly spreading, 3-toothed ; the lower 2-cleft, 

 Corolla 2-lipped : upper lip erect, flattish ; lower lip spreading, 3-lobed ; the middle lobe 

 mostly broader. Stamens 4, ascending, mostly approximated in pairs at the summit : cells 

 of the anther at first parallel, finally divaricate. — Herbs or undershrubs. Inflorescence 

 various. 



* Clinopodium, Benth. Cymulcs many-flowered or loosely feio-ftoivcred, nearly sessile : bracls subulate : calyx naked in the 



throat, or slightly villous. 



1. Melissa Clinopodium, Benth. Wild Basil. Field Thyme. 



Herbaceous, erect, villous; leaves petiolate, ovate, rather obtuse, slightly repand-denticulate; 

 cymules clustered in many-flowered, globose, axillary and terminal heads ; bracts subulate, 

 as long as the calyx. — Benth. I. c. ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 351. Clinopodium vulgare, Linn, 

 sp. 2. p. 587 ; Engl. bot. t. 1401 ; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 410 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 239 ; Beck, bot. 

 p. 281. 



Stem 1 - II foot high, sparingly branched or simple, clothed with a hoary pubescence. 

 Leaves 1-2 inches long, pale green, hairy on both sides. Flowers in 2 - 3 roundish heads 

 which are about an inch in diameter, and composed of crowded clusters. Bracts and calyx 

 almost hispid with whitish spreading hairs. Corolla pale purple or rose-color. 



Borders of woods, old fields, etc. ; frequent. A naturalized plant of European origin 

 July - August. 



