LX1II. LABIATE. 
337 
Calamintha .] 
diverging. Connectivum, subtriangular. — Name: uaXnc, good, 
and iiivtia, mint ; a plant whose scent was said to drive away 
serpents. 
* Annual. Cal. gibbous at the base below. Middle lobe of the lower lip 
of cor. nearly entire. IVhorls of about 6 simple \-flowercd pedicels, 
with almost no bracteas Acinos. 
1. C. A'cinos Clairv. ( common B.); stem ascending branched, 
leaves oblong on short stalks acute serrate more or less ciliate 
at the base. Thymus L.: E. B. t. 411. Acinos vulgaris Pers. 
Cultivated fields, especially in a gravelly, sandy, chalky soil. Rare 
in Scotland; North Queensferry, &c. ©. 7. — Stem 6 — 8 inches 
)Gng. Leaves sometimes almost entire. Flowers bluish-purple. 
Lower lip of the corolla with the middle segment emarginate. Smell 
fragrant, aromatic. 
** Perennial. Cal. nearly equal at the base. Middle lobe of the lower 
lip of cor. emarginate. IVhorls of two lax peduncled cymes. Brac- 
teas minute. Calamintha. 
2. C. Nepeta Clairv. ( lesser C .) ; stem herbaceous with pro- 
cumbent ascending or erect branches, leaves shortly stalked 
ovate serrate pale beneath, cymes stalked dichotomous many- 
flowered, calyx subcampanulate obscurely 2-lipped, teeth 
shortly ciliate all nearly of the same shape, the upper ones 
slightly shorter, hairs in the mouth prominent. Melissa L. 
Thymus Sm.: E. B. t. 1414. 
Dry banks and way-sides, on a chalky soil, in England, not com- 
mon. !{.. 7 — 8 “ Rather smaller in all its parts than the next, 
especially the leaves, which are strongly serrate. Odour strong, 
resembling Mentha Pulegium. The prominent while hairs on the 
mouth of the cal. distinguish this species from the next.”— Sm. Stalks 
of the cymes about as long as the primary partial stalk. 
3. C. officinalis Mcench ( common C.); stem herbaceous with 
loose ascending branches, leaves stalked broadly ovate obtuse 
crenato-serrate green on both sides, cymes stalked few-flowered 
shortly dichotomous or umbellate, calyx distinctly 2-lipped, 
teeth with long cilite, those of the upper lip triangular straight 
or ascending, of the lower subulate and longer, hairs in the 
mouth not prominent, lobes of the lower lip of the corolla 
distant, middle one the longest. Thymus Calamintha Scop.; 
E. B. t. 1676. Melissa Calamintha L. 
Way-sides and borders of fields, chiefly in gravelly soils in Eng- 
land, not very common. South of Ireland. %. 7 — 9. — Rhizome 
sometimes throwing out scions above ground, and not creeping below. 
Stalks of the cytnes scarcely half the length of the primary partial 
stalk. Plant aromatic, and employed to make herb-tea. Mr. 
Bentham remarks that neither by habit nor characters can this be at 
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