# Manual of the New Zealand Flora/Labiatæ

Order LIX. LABIATÆ.
Herbs or shrubs, the stems and branches usually quadrangular. Leaves opposite or whorled, frequently replete with glands containing an aromatic volatile oil; stipules wanting. Flowers hermaphrodite, irregular, solitary or in small axillary opposite cymes or clusters which are often aggregated into terminal spikes or racemes. Calyx inferior, persistent, 4–5-toothed or -cleft, or 2-lipped. Corolla gamopetalous, hypogynous; limb more or less 2-lipped, rarely equal; lobes 4–5, imbricate. Stamens inserted on the corolla-tube, usually 4 and then often didynamous, sometimes 2 only; anther-cells separate or confluent. Ovary superior, of 2 connate deeply 2-lobed carpels and hence 4-partite, 4-celled; style simple, proceeding from between the lobes of the ovarv; stigma usually 2-fid; ovules solitary in each cell, erect, anatropous. Fruit enclosed in the persistent calyx, of 4 1-seeded nutlets. Seeds small, erect; albumen wanting or nearly so; radicle next the hilum.
A very large and exceedingly natural family, quite cosmopolitan in its distribution, but most abundant in the warm-temperate portion of the Northern Hemisphere. Genera close upon 150; species not far from 2600. Most of the species are strongly aromatic, and have stimulating or tonic properties. Some are used as condiments, as thyme, spearmint, sage, marjoram, sweet basil, &c. The essential oils obtained from peppermint, lavender, rosemary, and other species are used medicinally. Many brilliant garden-plants belong to the order, especially of the genus Salvia. The meagre representation of the family in New Zealand is one of the chief peculiarities of the Flora. Only 2 genera occur, both of which have a wide distribution in temperate and warm regions. On the other hand, many species of northern origin have become naturalised since the commencement of European settlement, as will be seen on reference to the list of introduced plants given in the apoendix.
| Calyx 10-nerved. Corolla almost regular, lobes fiat. Stamens 4, equal, erect | 1. Mentha. |
| Calyx 2-lipped, closing over the fruit. Corolla 2-lipped. Stamens 4, didynamous | 2. Scutellaria. |
1. MENTHA, Linn.
Strong-scented perennial herbs; rootstock creeping, stoloniferous. Leaves opposite. Flowers small, often axillary and solitary in the New Zealand species, but in others frequently arranged in many-flowered whorls or clusters, which are often aggregated into terminal ​spikes. Calyx campanulate or tubular, 5-toothed, throat naked or villous. Corolla-tube short, not exceeding the calyx; limb 4-lobed; lobes nearly equal or the upper one broader. Stamens 4, equal, erect, distant; filaments glabrous; anther-cells 2, parallel. Style shortly bifid. Nutlets dry, ovoid, smooth, not bordered.
A widely spread genus, most abundant in Europe and northern Asia, where the species are highly variable and difficult of discrimination. The single New Zealand species is found nowhere else. Several of the European species have established themselves as weeds or garden-escapes, especially the pennyroyal (M. pulegium), corn-mint (M. arvensis), peppermint (M. piperita), and spearmint (M. viridis). Descriptions of these will be found in any English Flora.
1. M. Cunninghamii, Benth. in D.C. Prodr. xii. 174.—A fragrant perennial herb. Rhizome slender, wiry, prostrate, much branched, often matted; stems numerous from the rhizome, diffusely branched, pubescent, 2–12 in. long. Leaves shortly petiolate or nearly sessile, ⅙–½ in. long, broadly ovate or almost orbicular, obtuse, entire or with an obscure notch on each side, glandular-dotted. Flowers small, white, axillary, usually solitary but sometimes 2–3 in each axil; peduncles slender, variable in length. Calyx about ⅛ in. long, tubular-campanulate, densely hairy; teeth villous within. Corolla-lobes almost equal, flat, spreading, upper one shortly bifid. Stamens equalling the corolla or slightly exserted.—Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 205; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 225. M. consimilis, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 264. Micromeria Cunninghamii, Benth. Lab. Gen. et Sp. 730; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 391; Raoul, Choix, 43.
North and South Islands, Chatham Islands: Abundant throughout, in rather dry open grassy places. Sea-level to 4500 ft.
2. SCUTELLARIA, Linn.
Annual or perennial herbs or undershrubs. Flowers solitary or in pairs, axillary or in terminal racemes or spikes. Calyx campanulate, 2-lipped; lips entire, closed in fruit, the upper one bearing on its back a broad concave deciduous scale. Corolla-tube long, dilated above; limb 2-lipped, the upper one concave, entire or eraarginate, the lower convex, dilated, 3-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous; anthers conniving in pairs, ciliate, lower 1-celled, upper 2-celled. Upper lobe of the style very short. Nutlets small, granular-tuberculate or smooth.
A large genus of about 100 species, found in most parts of the world, but most abundant in America. The New Zealand species is endemic, but is closely allied to the Australian S. humilis, R. Br.
1. S. novæ-zealandiæ, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. ii. 335.—Stems slender, creeping and rooting at the base, erect or ascending above, sparingly branched, sparsely pilose or almost glabrous, 5–15 in. high. Leaves in distant pairs, on slender petioles ¼–¾ in. long; blade ​⅙–½ in., from ovate or ovate-oblong to orbicular or reniform, 3-5-lobed or -crenate or quite entire. Flowers ¼–⅓ in. long, white, solitary in the axils of the upper leaves; peduncles usually longer than the calyx, often secund. Calyx short, minutely pubescent; lips obtuse, rounded; scale at first shorter than the upper lip, but becoming much larger in fruit. Corolla pubescent, about twice as long as the calyx; lower lip rather longer than the upper one; lobes obtuse. Anthers glabrous.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 226. S. humilis, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 205 (not of B. Br.).
South Island: Nelson—Maitai Valley and other localities near Nelson, T.F.C.; Foxhill, Bidwill, Monro, T.F.C. Marlborough—Pelorus and Tinline Valleys, MacMahon!
Apparently a rare and local plant. It has been recorded from Banks Peninsula and Flagstaff Hill, near Dunedin, but I believe erroneously.