Part 62

The leaf is oval with a broad base and sharp tip, the margin is toothed, its ribs are noticeable, and texture thin, the under surface being slightly rough, although the upper is velvety; its color is green, toned with purple, which shows upon the upper side of the midrib and along the edge. The leaves are set on short purplish stems, and arranged in pairs, which grow at right angles to each other.

The very minute flower has a 2-lipped tubular corolla, the upper and lower lips being cleft, or faintly notched, in the middle; it is lavender, and so is the pale projecting pistil. The calyx is 5-parted, very slightly hairy, and green-purple in color. The flowers are arranged in compact whorls, and form a close, short, round, terminal spike.

Its pungent odor and taste are the most commonly noted traits of this Mint, but the rich-toned shining stalk is more worth observation.

*American Pennyroyal.* Hedeoma pulegioides.

Found, from July to September, in upland fields and pastures.

The sometimes branching stalk is slender, but strong in fibre; it grows from 5 to 10 inches high, and is hairy to the touch. Green in color.

The small leaf is long-pointed, with a slightly toothed margin, and somewhat roughened surface. It is medium green in color. The leaves, on slight stems, are set in pairs, which occur closely, and at right angles to each other.

The corolla of the very small flower consists of a downy 2-lipped tube, the upper lip being largest, flat, and notched at the tip, the lower 3-cleft; it is lavender in color. The small calyx is 5-parted. The flowers are set, on tiny stems, in rings about the stalk in the angles of the leaves, forming a terminal spine.

The perfume of the Pennyroyal is carried to a considerable distance,--were it not for this aromatic pungency the casual observer would often fail to find its haunt, so closely does it keep itself among the grasses of the pasture.

*Hemp Nettle.* Galeopsis Tetrahit.

Found in waste places, from July to September.

The stalk grows to be 1 or 2 feet high; it is branching, and 4-angled, and swollen beneath the joints; coarse in fibre, and thickly covered by stout bristle-like hairs. In color dark green, or dull purplish-red at the joints.

The long-pointed oval leaf is many ribbed, with a coarsely notched margin, thin but coarse texture, and roughened by hairs. Its color is dull green, lighter underneath. The leaves, on their hairy reddish stems, grow in pairs which spring at right angles to each other.

The small tubular corolla spreads into 2 divisions, the upper being erect and arched, the lower 3-cleft with a slightly heart-shaped middle lobe; its color is pink or lavender. The 4 stamens stand erect under the upper lip. The hairy, green calyx is bell-shaped, with 5 bristling points. The flowers are set (supported by tiny hairy bracts) in whorls, in the angles of the upper leaves.

A large variety, G. grandiflora, is often found in the same localities; the difference lies in the larger size of the corolla, which is clear white in color prettily marked with purple on its lower lip, and in the rounder shape of the calyx. Both plants are unpleasant to the touch because of their harsh bristle-like hairs.

*Blue Curls.* Trichostema dichotomum.

Found on dry sandy plains and in open fields, in September.

The branching, leafy, and erect stalk grows from 6 to 12 inches high; it is strong and woody-fibred, not noticeably square as is usual among the Mints, minutely hairy, and soft to the touch. Its color is green, reddish near the root.

The leaf is oval, with an entire margin, and is nearly smooth to the touch. It is green in color. The leaves, on short stems, grow in pairs. They are strong scented.

The corolla is irregular in shape; 5-lobed, 4 of which are equal in size, slightly pointed, and erect or bent slightly forward, while the remaining lobe is long, narrow, and down-curving; in color a deep violet-blue. The 4 stamens and the pistil are long, pale, or reddish-violet; the green calyx is 5-parted. The flowers are set on short stems from the ends of the branches.

The blossom opens in the early morning sunlight. At first the pistil and stamens extend beyond the flower in a long curve, but as the day advances their tips gradually draw inwards until they are brought into the throat of the corolla, and thus become the little blue curl which gives the plant its bye-name; by three o’clock of the afternoon the curl is completed and the flower falls. Its odor is strong, with a rank resemblance to the Pennyroyal.

POKEWEED FAMILY.

PHYTOLACCACEÆ.

*Pokeberry.* Phytolacca decandra. *Garget.* *Pigeon-berry.*

Found in meadows and waysides, from July to September.

A plant, from 5 to 9 feet high, with many branches and leaves; the stalk is stout, and large (from 1 to 2, or more, inches in diameter), and round; it is hard-fibred and smooth; in color a dull crimson.

The large leaf is oval, tapering to the tip, and set on a very short stem; the texture is exceedingly fine, and smooth, and the color a rather dark and grave green. The arrangement is alternate.

The small 5-parted flower is white, tinted on the outside with crimson; the seed-box in the center is green. The flowers, on short, pale crimson foot-stems, grow in elongated terminal clusters upon crimson stems.