700 DIDYNAMIA. GYMNOSPERMIA. Mentha. 
Rev. R. Forby. Waste places at North Bovey, Devon. Rev. J. P. Jones. 
Lowdore, Cumberland; Studley Woods, Yorkshire. Mr. Winch. About 
Lanvayer, and on the side of the road from Abergavenny to Monmouth, 
near to the last town. Purton. By the road side in Llanfairynghornwy, 
Anglesey. Welsh Bot. E.) P. Aug.* 
M. vir'idis. Spikes interrupted: leaves spear-shaped, naked, serrated, 
pointed, sessile: (floral-leaves bristle-shaped, somewhat hairy, 
as well as the teeth of the calyx: flower-stalks very smooth. E.) 
{Sole Menth. 11. t. 5 — E. Bot. 2424. E.)— Woodv. 170— Cam. Epit. 477— 
Ger. 552. 2— Dod. 95. 4— Lob. Obs. 271. 4, and Ic. i. 508. 1— Ger. Em. 
680. 4— Park. 31— Dod. 95. 3— Lob. Obs. 271. 3, and Ic. i. 507. 2— Ger. 
Em. 680. 3—Pet. 31. 7— Fuchs. 290— J. B. iii. 220 —Trag. 20. 2 —Lonic. 
i. 113. 2— Mattli. 712. 
Leaves strap-spear-shaped. Spikes of flowers much longer than broad. 
{Stem two or three feet high, upright, smooth, sharply angular, branched, 
often tinged with purple. Flower-stalks and tube of the calyx perfectly 
smooth, though the teeth of the latter are not always free from hairiness. 
Floral-leaves generally ciliated. Flowers of a bright red colour, dotted 
within. Stamens tipped with red knobs. E.) 
Var. 2. Stem red, taller, thicker, and stronger, and divided at the top into 
more flowering branches. Leaves blacker, shorter, and not so taper- 
pointed, appearing blunter, more wrinkled, teeth not so fine. Flowers 
smaller and paler. Scent stronger, and not so agreeable. Ray.—(Teeth 
of the calyx fringed with hairs. E.) 
Pluk. Mant. 129. 
By the river side at Bocking, Essex. Dale. On the river Medway, near 
Maidstone. Flukcnet. At Babergh, near Norwich. Mr. Pitchford. 
Var. 3. Narrow-leaved, smooth, with a broader spike ; teeth of the calyx 
fringed with longer and more numerous hairs. 
Bauh. Pin. 227. 
In a meadow at Bocking. Dale. 
Var. 4. Spike smooth; leaves broader; teeth of the calyx fringed with 
hairs. 
(M. sativa of Pharm. Lond. E.) 
Spear Mint. {M. spicata , a viridis. Linn. Watery places and banks of 
rivers. Near Exmouth, and on the banks of the Thames. Hudson. (By 
the sides of rills in the vale of Cerig, near Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. 
Mr. Griffith. By the side of the Avon between Bath and Kelston, and 
on a common between Glastonbury and Wells. Mr. Sole. E.) 
P. July—Aug.f 
* (Mr. Sole states this to be the true Menthastrum of the shops, and deduces that the 
Monts, the physicians of their times, were well acquainted with its virtues, from its still 
being frequently found about the ruins of abbeys and monasteries. He finds it speedily 
cure chlorosis, and wonderfully refresh the brain, removing the dull stupid langour subse¬ 
quent to epileptic fits. E.) 
+ The flavour of this species being more agreeable than that of the others, it is generally 
preferred for medical and culinary purposes. A conserve of the leaves is very grateful, 
and the distilled waters, both simple and spirituous, are universally thought pleasant. The 
leaves are used in spring salads; and tire juice of them, boiled up with sugar, is formed into 
tablets. The distilled waters, and the essential oil, are often given to stop vomiting, and 
frequently with success. From the circumstances noticed under M. arvensis, it has been 
