Nat. ord., Labiatae.

Wild Marjoram.

Characters. - Root perennial, shortly creeping; the annual stems erect, 1 to 2 feet high, more or less hairy. Leaves stalked, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, an inch or more long, and slightly toothed. Flowers purple or rarely white, in globular compact heads, forming a terminal trichotomous panicle. Bracts ovate, about the length of the calyx. Calyx very hairy inside the mouth, with 5 short, nearly equal teeth. Corolla twice as long as the calyx, with 4 broad, nearly equal lobes, of which the upper one is broader and nearly erect. The two longest stamens, and sometimes all four, project beyond the corolla.

A proving of this plant is published in N. A. J. H., xv.

Part employed. - The fresh plant.

Preparation. - Tincture (proof spirit).