The small tubular flower is 2-lipped; the narrow upper lip being 2-cleft, while the wider lower lip is 8-cleft, with its middle and largest lobe cut into 2 scallops. In texture the corolla is fine and thin, and in color it is a deep and strong purple-blue. The 4 stamens, and the pistil, are long, and curve out from the hollow of the upper lip,—they are bright blue, and their tips, at first a rich red, become white as they mature. The small 5-pointed calyx is reddish, with a fine green bloom. The flowers grow in close groups of 3 or 5, in the angles of the leaves, and form an irregular one-sided terminal spike.
This plant affords a perfect example of color-harmony, with its contrasting absolute purplish-blue corolla, and deep red stamens, brought into unity by the purple-toned green of its leaves. It has a strong and pungent scent.
HYSSOP: Hyssopus officinalis.
| Self Heal. | Brunella vulgaris. |
| Heal All. | |
| Thimble-flower (Vt.) |
Found everywhere, among short grass, from July to September.
The stalk (from 6 to 12 inches high) is more or less reclining in habit; it is leafy, and branching slightly, thick, square, with grooves on its two opposite sides, tough-fibred, and smooth. In color, light green.
The leaf is long, oval with a tapering tip, a sparsely notched, or entire margin, and a smooth surface. Its growth, on short stems, is in pairs. Green in color.
The flower is irregularly 2-lipped, the upper lip hoodlike, and the lower 3-lobed, the middle lobe being largest and fringed on its edge. The color is violet, the hooded lip is generally darker than the other parts of the corolla; the buds are much deeper in color than the blossoms. The lower division of the 2-parted calyx has 2 long points; a broad heart-shaped bract supports its base; in color it is green with a violet tinge. The flowers grow in an elongated, or thimble-shaped head, on the end of the stalk, and from the angles of the upper leaves.
The clear violet of the corolla is brought into harmony with the leaf-green, through the violet tinted calyx which supplies the unifying color. The plant’s habit of growth is sprangling, for the stem, which seems strong-fibred in itself, is given to lopping weakly upon surrounding vegetation.