The smooth square stalk is slightly grooved, and somewhat slender, though strong in fibre; it grows from 2 to 5 feet in height, and branches only for the flowers. Color, green tinged with dull violet.
The leaf is oval, broad at the base, and tapering to the point; its margin is sparingly notched, the texture is exceedingly fine, and the surface is soft to the touch. It is aromatic in odor. The color is grayish-green, the midrib being lighter.
The flower is 2-lipped, with a long slender tube, and the pistil and 2 stamens project beyond the upper lip; they are colored like the corolla, a clear fine lavender. The small, tubular calyx is minutely 5-pointed; of a green color that is tinted with dull violet. The flowers grow in large terminal heads, which are set about by a row of small, light green leaves (bracts).
The flowering begins at the center of the head, and continues in ever-widening whorls, leaving behind them a slightly rounded disc of small tubular calices, resembling a honeycomb,—the intermingled green and lavender in this disc form a pleasing note in the color-scheme of the plant, whose leafage is unusually fine in texture, as well as tone.
WILD BERGAMOT: M. fistulosa.
| Hyssop. | Hyssopus officinalis. |
Found along roadside banks, near human habitations, during July and August.
The stalk is 8 or 12 inches high with many leaves and trig little branches; it is square, tough-fibred, slender, and smooth. The color is light green, inclining to a blue-green,—reddish near the foot.
The long and narrow leaf has a blunt-pointed tip, an entire margin, and shows only its midrib; the texture is thick and a little stiff, and the surface is very slightly rough. In color it is a fine gray-green, with a hint of the rich color of the flower. The leaves grow upon the stem in clustered pairs, which occur at right angles to each other.