MINT FAMILY. 



235 



stem 6-18 inches long, slender and prostrate, — ^the flowering irancJies erect or ascend- 

 ing, 4-8 or 10 inches high, retrorselj" pubescent. Leaves three-fourths of an inch to an 

 inch and a half long, and'rather wider than long ; petioles 1-3 inches long: Cijmules all dis- 

 tant ; bradeoles minute, subulate and ciliate. Corolla blue or purphsh-blue (rarely white), 

 pilose — the upper lip bifid. Anthers approsinnated in pairs, — the cells diverging and 

 presenting the figure of a cross. 



Fence-rows and moist shaded places ; introduced. Native of Europe and Northern 

 Asia. J'L May -June. J';-. July. 



Ohs. Xaturalized about many settlements, and being a mere weed, is 

 often inconveniently abundant. The herb was employed in England to 

 clarify and give a flavor to ale (whence one of its common names), until 

 the reign of Henry YIII., at which period hops were substituted. The 

 infusion of the herb is a popular medicine, — like that of the preceding 

 species. 



8. HYSSO'PTJS, L. Hyssop. 



[Latinized from Ezdb, — an ancient Hebrew name.] 



Calyx tubular, 15-nerved, equally 5-toothed ; throat naked. Corolla bi- 

 labiate, — the upper lip erect, flat, emarginate — the lower lip spreading, 

 3-lobed, middle lobe larger, bifid. Stamens 4, exserted, diverging, the 

 lower pair longer ; anthers 2-celled, — the cells linear, divaricate. 

 1. H. officixa'lis, L. Leaves linear-lanceolate, rather acute, entire, 

 sessile ; cy mules secund, racemose, — the upper ohqs approximate. 

 Officinal Hyssopus. Hyssop. Garden Hyssop. 

 Fr. Hysope. Germ. Der Isop. Span. Hisopo. 



Root perennial. Stem 18 inches to 2 or 3 feet high, subterete, shrubby at base and much 

 branched. Leaver three-fourths of an inch to an inch and a half long. Cymules rather 

 crowded in a one-sided terminal raceme or spike, with a few distant ones below. Cm-olla 

 bright blue, or sometimes purplish. 



Gardens : cultivated. Native of Southern Europe and Asia. Fl. July -Aug. Fr. Sept. 



Obs. Cultivated as a medicinal herb. The infusion has long been a 

 popular febrifuge. The Dittany ( Cunila Maria'na, L.) — which belongs 

 to this tribe — is also a well-known article in the popular Materia Med- 

 ica ; but as it grows wild, and is usually confined to dry hilly woodlands, 

 it is scarcely entitled to a place among agricultural plants. 



9. SATURE'JA, L. Summer Savory. 



[I'he ancient Latin name.] 



Calyx tubular-campanulate, 10-nerved, deeply and nearly equally 5- 

 toothed, or obscurely bilabiate ; throat naked, or nearly so. Corolla 

 bilabiate, — the upper lip erect, flat — the lower one spreading, 3-lobed, 

 lobes nearly equal. Stamens 5, diverging. Herbs with small entire 

 leaves, often fasciculate in the axils, and somewhat spiked, purplish 

 flowers. 



1. S, horten'sis, L. Stem erect, much branched, pubescent ; leaves 

 oblong-linear, acute ; cymules axillary, pedunculate, few-flowered, some- 

 what secund, remote or the ujiper ones somewhat spiked. 



