Anisomeles
(from anisos, unequal, and melos, a member; in reference to the anthers of the longer stamens being halved). ORD. Labiatae. Ornamental greenhouse or evergreen stove shrubs, herbaceous perennials, or annuals. Whorls sometimes densely many-flowered, at others few, and loose; corolla with upper lip erect, oblong, entire; lower lip larger, spreading, and lateral lobes ovate, obtuse. They are of very easy culture in light rich soil; young cuttings strike freely in spring, in heat, under a bell glass. A. furcata requires little or no artificial heat, but the protection of a bell glass is beneficial. Seeds of A. ovata may be sown in spring, in heat, and, after due hardening off, the seedlings may be planted outside in May. A. furcata (forked).* fl. small, elegantly variegated with white, red, and purple, in loose many-flowered racemose cymes. July. l. petiolate, ovate, acuminated, crenated, cordate at the base, hispid on both surfaces. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Nepaul, 1824.
A. malabarica (Malabar). fl. purplish; whorls distant, many-flowered, dense. July. l. oblong-lanceolate, 2in. to 4in. in length, obtuse, serrately crenated in the upper part, quite entire at the base. h. 2ft. to 5ft. Tropical Asia, in humid places, 1817. Shrub.
A. ovata (ovate-leaved).* fl. purple; lower lip of a deeper colour; whorls many-flowered, lower ones distant, upper ones interruptedly spicate. August. l. ovate, obtuse, broadly crenated. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Nepaul, 1823. An annual. Habitat similar to last.