SPEARMINT.

827

Fig. 178.

ludf. C «? 1 * W ^ s ca ^ cd after her. Ovid ( Metamorph. lib. x. ver. 729) also al-1,1 this fable.

"hat t A><Y ^ —Calyx campanulate or tubular, five-toothed, equal or soine-the with the throat naked inside or villous. Corolla with

"Pper G encdose d> the limb campanulate, nearly equal, four-cleft: thee^a] se S mei }t broader, nearly entire or emarginate. Stamens four,cell s * % ect ’ distant; filaments smooth, naked ; anthers with two parallelMenial shoi % bifid > with the lobes bearing stigmas at the points.la dl 7> smooth (Bentham).

Sp. Char. — Stem erect, smooth. Leavessubsessile, ovate-lanceolate, unequally ser-rated, smooth; those under the flowers allbract-like, rather longer than the whorls;those last and the calyxes hairy or smooth.Spikes cylindrical, loose. Whorls approxi-mated, or the lowest or all of them distant(Bentham).—Creeping-rooted.

Hab. — Marshy places. Indigenous.A native of the milder parts of Europe ;also of Africa and America. Perennial.Flowers in August. Selected for medicinaluse when about to flower.

Properties. —The whole herb, calledgreen-mint or spearmint ( herba menthee vi-ridis), is employed in medicine. It has astrong but peculiar odour, and an aro-matic, bitter taste, followed by a sense ofcoldness when air is drawn into the mouth., cen Sesquichloride of iron communicates a

Coil ° Ur ^ anna ^ e °f i' ron ) 1° cold watery infusion.

It a i SQ Position.—I ts odour and aromatic qualities depend on volatile oil.contains tannic acid, resin ? a bitter principle, and woody fibre.

Oil of £

J^dish i >3 P earm mt (Oleum Mentha viridis ) is of a pale yellowish colour, but becomes“nils a t * las hie odour and taste of the plant, and is lighter than water. It

*1*) q F.; and is composed, according to Mr. Kane, of C 33 H 28 0, or of 3J (Cl®re $h herh/t> e avera ge produce of the essential oil is not more than ]-300th of thep 0 (Hrande, Diet . Mat. Med. p. 328).

" n d t 0 S1olog ical Effects.— Aromatic, carminative, mildly stimulantEitoda,? 0 ' Feebler than peppermint. Said, though without sufficient(Finn® 1011 ? b) check the secretion of milk, and to act as an emmenagogueIj SKf ^Ph' 1 Murray’s App. Med. vol. ii. p. 180-1).cip a n ' Employed as a salad and sweet herb. In medicine it is prin-Pain Si -pvT aS a davour i n g ingredient, and to alleviate or prevent colicky1, r v ihe following are its officinal preparations, with their uses:—lea Ves fusuat Menthm simplex, D.; Spearmint Tea. — (Spearmintoiir, Ce ’ f ne, '>. sij-; Boiling Water, a sufficient quantity to afford sixtable c ° grained liquor). Stomachic and carminative. Used in irri-fe inedi e s 1 ^ >ns s t° inacb ; but is ordinarily a vehicle for other

®> Mentha piperita.

Mentha Pulegium'.c » Mentha viridis.

Steen

o Dose, fjj. to fjij. or ad libitum.

Boili^- Mentha compositum, D.—Spearmint leaves, dried, 3ij.;b <lUor. ater, a sufficient quantity to afford six ounces of strainedt-ogest for half an hour in a covered vessel, and, when the liquor