( 486 .) 
CALAMl'NTHA* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. DiDYNAhvilAf, Gymnospe'iimia %. 
Natural Order. Labia'tai^, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 110. — Sm. Gram, 
of Bot. p. 99. ; Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 63. — Bentham, in Bot. Regist. 
(1829.) — Lindl. Syn. p. 196. ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 239. — 
Rich, by Maegilliv. p. 439. — Loud. Hurt. Brit. p. 528. — Don’s Gen. 
Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. iv. p. 665. — Mack. FI. Hibern. p. 209. — 
Hook. Brit. FI. (4th edit.) p. 415. — Verticii.lat.I5 of J.innaus. — 
Syrinoales ; suborder, Primuloste; sect. Mknthin.*; type, 
Menthaceje or Labiate; subtype, Saturid.e; Burn. Outl. of 
Bot. v. ii. p. 900, 958, 968, & 972. 
Gen. Char. Flowers axillarj', somewhat solitary, or often in 
loose bracteated cymes. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, of 1 sepal, tubu- 
lar, 13-ribbed, nearly equal at the base, 2-lipped; upper lip of 
3 sharp teeth ; lower lip of 2 longer, equal, narrow, awl-shaped 
teeth; the throat hairy inside (see fig- 6). Corolla (fig. 2.) of 
1 petal, ringent ; tube as long as the calyx, or longer; throat but 
little dilated ; upper lip shortest, nearly flat, upright, blunt, with a 
small notch ; lower lip longer and broader, spreading, in 3 deep, 
blunt lobes, the middle one broadest, with a shallow notch. Ft 'la- 
ments (see fig. 3.) 4, didynamous, shorter than the corolla, slender, 
incurved. JInthcrs distinctly 2-lobed. Germen (see fig. 4.) 4-cleft. 
Style thread-shaped. Stigma in 2 acute segments. Seeds (see 
fig. 5.) 4, small, roundish, in the bottom of the closed, permanent 
calyx. 
The flowers in loose bracteated cymes; the tubular, 13-ribbed, 2-lipped calyx, 
nearly equal at the base, with 5 unequal teeth, and a hairy throat; the corolla 
with the upper lip nearly flat, and the loner one 3-lobed, with the middle lobe 
emarginate ; and the incurved stamens ; will distinguish this from other genera 
in the same class and order. 
It differs from Thymus (t. 127.) in the stamens being ascending and incurved, 
not distant ; and from Acinos (t. 479. ) in the base of the calyx being nearly equal, 
not gibbous. 
Two species British. 
CALAMI'NTHA NE'PETA. Cat-mint Balm. Lesser Calamint. 
Three-forked Calamint. Field Calamint. 
Spec. Char. Whorls on forked, many-flowered stalks, longer 
than the adjoining leaf. Leaves serrated. Hairs in the mouth of 
the calyx prominent. 
Pursh’s Fl. Amer. Sept. v. ii. p. 413. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 280. — Irv. Lond. FI. 
p. 134. — Luxf. Reig. Fl. p. 53. — Calamintha trichotoma. Cray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. 
p. 384. — Calamintha odore puleyii, Ray’s Syn. p. 243. — Johnson's Gerarde, 
p 687. f. 4.— Blackst. Sp. Bot. p. 9. — Calamintha altera odora Puleyii foliis 
maculosis, Park. Theatr. Bot. p. 36. — Melissa Nepeta, Linn. Sp. PI. p. 828. — 
Curt. Fl. Loud. t. — Huds. Fl. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 263. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iii. pt, i. 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. Corolla. — Fig. 3. Stamens. — Fig. 4. Pistil.— Fig. 5. 
Seed. — Fig. 6. Mouth of the Calyx, showing the projecting hairs. — Fig. 7. A Portion 
of the stem. — All, more or less, magnified. 
* From halos, Gr. good ; and mentha, Gr. mint ; a plant whose scent drove 
away serpents. — II ookeu. 
f Sec fol. 31, note f. f Sec fol. 31, note i. j See fol. 94, a. 
