MINT FAMILY. 



237 



Fr. Serpolet. Germ . Der Thymian. Span. Tomillo. 



5^<?7n5 4-6 inches high, numerous, slender, rather erect, much hranched and matted 

 together at base, suffruticose, clothed with a short cinereous pubescence. Leaves one 

 fourth to half an inch long, abruptly narrowed to a petiole, punctate, slightly pubescent 

 beneath, fasciculate in the axils by reason of abortive branches. CaZ(/x hirsute, strongly 

 ribbed, punctate ; segments of the lower hp subulate, pectinately ciliate. Corolla pale 

 purple. 



Gardens: cultivated. Native of Southern Europe. Jl. June -August. Fr. August - 

 September. 



Obs. A faTorite condiment in culinary processes, — and generally cul- 

 tivated in kitchen gardens. The creeping Thyme (T. SerpyVlum, L.) — 

 a species nearly allied in properties and appearance — is natui-alized in 

 many places. 



12. MELIS'SA, L. Balm. 



[Greek, Meliisa, the honey-bee ; the flowers being a favorite of that insect.] 



Calyx tubular, 13-nerved, bilabiate, — the upper lip mostly spreading, 3- 

 toothed — the lower one bifid. Corolla bilabiate, -with a recurved ascend- 

 ing tube, dilated above. Stamens 4, conniving under the upper lip ; anthers 

 2-celled ; cells distinct, parallel, finely diverging. Perennial herbs with 

 loosely few-flowered, one-sided cyrnides in the axes of leaf-like bracts. 

 1. M. officina'lis, L. Stem erect, branching ; leaves ovate, coarsely 

 crenate-serrate, petiolate. 

 Officinal Melissa. Balm. ' Common Balm. 

 Fr. La Melisse. Germ. Die Melisse. Span. Melisa. 



Stem 1 - 2 or 3 feet high, more or less pubescent. Leaves 2-3 or 4 inches long ; petiole 

 half an inch to an inch and a half in length — the floral leaves resembhng the cauline, but 

 usually somewnat cuncate at base. Cymiiles 3-6-flowered on a short common peduncle. 

 Calyx dry, hairy. Corolla white or ochroleucous, sometimes slightly tinged with purple. 



Cultivated. Native of Southern Europe and Asia. i^/. July -August. Jr. September. 



Ohs. Commonly cultivated in gardens, and has become sparingly nat- 

 uralized in some places. An infusion of the herb, or " Balm Tea," is a 

 popular domestic medicine, and it is probably as efficacious as any other 

 harmless warm drink in producing perspiration. 



13. BRUXEL'LA, Tournef. Self-heal. 



[German, Die Braeune, the quinsy ; said to be cured by it.] 



Calyx tubular-campanulate, about 10-nerved, reticulately veined, bilab- 

 iate, — the upper lip flat, dilated, truncate, with 3 short-teeth — the low^er 

 lip bifid, segments lanceolate. Corolla with the upper lip erect, vaulted, 

 entire — the lower lip depending, 3-lobed, middle lobe rounded, concave, 

 crenulate ; tube a little contracted at throat, inflated below it on the 

 under side, with an annulus. or little ring of short hairs or scales, near 

 the base within. Filaments 2-toothed at the apex, the lower tooth bear- 

 ing the anther. Perennials with few-flowered cymules clustered in im- 

 bricated spikes or heads. 



