Calamintha
(from kalos, beautiful, and Mintha, Mint). Calamint. ORD. Labiatae. A genus of hardy herbaceous plants, having the following essential characters: Calyx two-lipped; stamens diverging; upper lip of corolla nearly flat; tube straight. Rather pretty plants, with Thyme-like flowers, well suited for furnishing rock gardens. They grow in almost any garden soil. Increased by seeds, cuttings, or divisions of the roots, in spring. C. Acinos (Acinos). Basil Thyme. fl. bluish-purple, variegated with white and dark purple, disposed in whorls, one on each flower-stalk. July and August. l. acute, serrate. Stems branched, ascending, leafy. h. 6in. England. Annual. SYNS. Acinos vulgaris and Thymus Acinos. (Sy. En. B. 1048.) C. alpina (alpine). fl. purplish, almost sessile, four to six in a whorl, June to September. l. petiolate, roundish or ovate, slightly serrated. h. 6in. S. Europe, 1731. A freely branched, tufted plant.
C. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. purplish, 1 1/2in. long, in loose racemes; throat much inflated. June. l. petiolate, ovate, acute, coarsely toothed, rounded at the base, 2in. to 3in. long. Herbaceous stems branched at the base, and decumbent. h. 1ft. 1596.
C. patavina (Paduan). fl. pale or purplish-red, rather large. June. l. petiolate, ovate, acute, pubescent. h. 6in. to 9in. S. Europe, 1776.