20 



ROUND-HEADED MINTS. 



PL. VIII. 



8. COMMON PEPPER-MINT. 



The stalk of this plant is fquare, wreathed, or bending; it is of a reddifh- 

 brown colour, a little hairy, much branched, and grows two feet and a 

 half in height; the branches, as well as the main ftalk, terminate in ob- 

 long, ^ and very often, round heads of flowers, which are of a beautiful 

 purplifh-red colour: the collateral branches bending and wreathing in 

 perfeft unifon with the main ftalk, give the plant a very animated and 

 graceful mein, exhibiting at firft glance a total contrail: to the foregoing. 

 The leaves ftand on fhort foot-ftalks; they are ovate, ferrated, and (lightly 

 hairy j the ftamens are fhorter than the blofloms ; the calix is fprinkled 

 with the fame fort of fpangles as that of the foregoing, but the leaves are 

 not fo loaded with them as the leaves of the former. The whole plant 

 has a very agreeable fmell and flavour of pepper and mint, but is not fo 

 piquant as the foregoing ; it neverthelefs make a very pleafant pepper- 

 mint water when diftilled green ; but the former is the right plant for 

 drying for the ufe of the fliops. 



I have found it fpontaneous in various watery places about Bath, and 

 between Wells and Glaftonbury, alfo in Chittern-bottom, Wilts. 



It does not blow until the middle of September in general. 



Mr. Hay's Artist, who perhaps lived at a distance, and after drawing the first lines of 

 this plant, I suppose look it home with him to finish by memory at leisure, (which is too 

 often the case) by which means he has made a centaur of it, having placed the head of 

 common water-mint on the shoulders of the spiked pepper-mint! the leaves of which are 

 done to admiration, and consequently in Mr. Ray's presence, who, it is universally known, 

 was excedmgly accurate. 



Barrellieri's Artist has committed the same blunder of putting styles for stamens, and 

 vice versa, Sfc. for which reason that neat collection of Spanish and Italian plants is ren- 

 dered of no value now. Indeed there is this to be said for both, that the sexual system 

 was not known at that time, of course the drawing-masters were not so attentive to the 

 number of stamens and styles as the present system requires. 



