234 



WEEDS A2\B USEFUL PLANTS. 



There is now, however, but little confidence placed in the virtues thus 

 imputed or implied ; and in these temperance times, the doctrine of the 

 concluding line would be denounced as rank heresy, — even though the 

 charm be fortified " with Rue," — that " herb of grace o' Sundays," as 

 Shakspeare terms it — which is here appropriately enough associated 

 with an indulgence in cups ! We often find, on dry sterile meadow 

 banks, a native species of this genus (S. lyra'ta, L.), which is a mere 

 weed, but scarcely of sufficient importance to require a description here. 

 Several tropical species are cultivated in gardens and green-houses ; 

 some of which have the calyx, as well as the corolla, highly colored, 

 and are very showy. 



7. NE'PETA, X. Catnip. 



[Supxwsed to b3 named from JVepde, — a tovra in Italy.] 



Calyx tubular, sometimes ovoid, about 15-nerved, obliquely 5-toothed. 

 Corolla bilabiate, — the upper lip erect, somewhat concave, emarginate 

 or bifid — the lower lip spreading, 3 lobed, middle lobe largest ; throat 

 dilated. Stamens 4, ascending, — the lower pair shorter ; anthers mostly 

 approximated in pairs, 2-celled ; cells diverging, finally divaricate. Pe- 

 rennial herbs. 



1. N. Cata'ria, L. Hoary-pubescent ; stem erect, tall ; leaves oblong- 

 cordate, acute, coarsely crenate-serrate, upper floral ones small and 

 bract-like ; cymules densely many-flowered, the upper ones crowded in a 

 spike — the lower ones distant ; calyx ovoid-tubular ; corolla one half 

 longer than tne calyx. 



Cat Is'epeta. Cat-mint. Catnip. 



Fr^ Herbe aux Chats. Germ. Die Katzen muenze. Span. Gatera. 



2 - 3 feet higb, mostly several from the same root, somewhat branched. Leaves 

 2-3 or 4 inches long, green above ; canescent beneath ; petioles half an inch to an inch 

 and a half in length. Cymules on short common peduncles, in interrupted terminal 

 spikes ; bracteoles lance linear, a little longer than the pedicels. Corolla ochroleucous, v,ith 

 a reddish tinge and purple dots, pubescent ; upper hp emarginately bitid, the lower one 

 crenate dentate, villous at base. 



Fence-rows, fields, and waste places : introduced. Native of Europe. Fl. June -Aug. 

 Fr. July -September. 



Obs. This foreigner is so extensively naturalized as to be a, rather 

 troublesome weed. The dried herb, in infusion, is a highly popular 

 medicine among the good ladies who deal in simples, — and is probably 

 often useful. But, as a weed on the farm, it is objectionable, and, when 

 permitted to multiply, gives to the premises a very slovenly appearance. 



2. N. Glecho'ma, Benth. Stem procumbent, radicating at base ; leaves 

 cordate-reuiform, rounded, crenate, all alike ; cymules few-flowered, — 

 all distant, axillary ; calyx tubular ; corolla nearly three times as long 

 as the calyx. 



Groand Ivy. Ale-hoof. Gill. 



Ir. Lierre terrestre. Germ. Die Gundelrebe. Span. Yedra terrestre. 



