One of the Mints--_Mentha Pulegium_ (order _Labiatæ_)--well-known as a garden herb under the name of Pennyroyal, is to be found on damp heaths. Though not very common, it is widely distributed, occurring in nearly all parts of Great Britain. It is very aromatic, and is largely cultivated for use as a remedy for colds. The flowers are of a lilac colour, arranged in dense, distant whorls in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is downy without, hairy at the throat within; and the corolla has almost equal lobes, the upper of which is notched. The plant flowers in August and September.
In the same order is the Wild Thyme (_Thymus Serpyllum_)--a little, wiry, prostrate plant, with an aromatic odour, very abundant on the dry heaths of most parts of Britain, flowering from June to August. Its stem is thin but hard, and much branched, the numerous flowerless branches usually forming a dense tuft close to the ground. The flowers are purple, in whorls of five or six in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is lipped, of a deep red colour, and its mouth is closed with hairs after the corolla is shed. The corolla is of a paler colour, and indistinctly divided into two lips, the upper of which is erect and notched, while the lower is cleft into three lobes. The time of flowering is from June to August.
The Wood Sage or Wood Germander (_Teucrium Scorodonia_) is very abundant on damp heaths, and is also commonly seen in hedgerows and on banks, especially in hilly and heathy districts. It is an erect plant, from one to two feet high, with a hard, hairy, slightly-branched stem. Its paired leaves are stalked, ovate or cordate, toothed, downy, and much wrinkled like the leaves of the true Sages. The flowers are yellowish white, arranged in pairs on terminal and axillary racemes, with a small bract at the foot of each short flower-stalk. Although not very conspicuous, they are very attractive to bees, providing abundance of nectar. There is no true upper lip to the corolla, the upper part being deeply cleft, with a small lobe on each side; and the stamens and stigma project beyond the petals. This plant flowers during July and August.
On moist heaths, especially in the west of Britain, we commonly meet with the Lesser Skull-cap (_Scutellaria minor_), another of the Labiates. It is a little plant, seldom more than six inches high, with pale pink flowers that bloom from July to October. The stem is rather slender, and branched; and the paired leaves are broadly ovate below, narrower above, obtuse, very shortly stalked, and either entire or slightly toothed. The flowers are only a quarter of an inch long, shortly stalked, and usually placed singly in the axils of the leaves. The calyx has two lips, the upper of which bears, on the middle of its back, a prominent hollow scale; and the corolla has a long tube with two small lips, the lower of which is divided into three lobes.