Tinnea
(named in honour of Mdlle. Tinne, Nile voyager). ORD. Labiatae. A small genus (four or five species) of tall, pubescent or woolly, stove herbs or under-shrubs, natives of tropical Africa. Flowers fuscous--or violet-purple, fragrant; calyx ovoid, bilabiate; corolla tube short and broad, the limb sub bilabiate, the upper lip emarginate or two-lobed, the lower one much longer and spreading; stamens four; whorls often loose, two-flowered, axillary or disposed in a terminal raceme; pedicels bi-bracteolate. Leaves entire; floral ones conformed, the upper ones reduced to bracts. Only one species has been introduced. It thrives in any light, rich soil. The plants should be grown in a light, airy place, and frequently pinched to induce a bushy growth. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, which root readily. T. aethiopica (African).* fl. copiously produced in the upper axils, two or three to a peduncle; corolla dark maroon-purple, the broad tube a little longer than the calyx. Winter. l. on short, slender petioles, ovate, sub-acute or acute, quite entire, narrowed at base. Stems and branches erect, terete, ribbed, twiggy. h. 4ft. to 6ft. 1867. A hoary sub-shrub. (B. M. 5637.) T. ae. dentata (toothed). fl., calyx large, cylindrical, two-lipped, inclosing the whole of the corolla tube. l. opposite, elliptic, slightly toothed. 1884. (B. M. 6744.)