Home › Contents › Common Dittany

Common Dittany

Cunila Mariana. Mint Family.

About one foot high. Stem.--Much branched, reddish. Leaves.--Opposite; aromatic; dotted; smooth; ovate, rounded or heart-shaped at base. Flowers.--Small, purple, lilac or white; clustered. Calyx.--Five-toothed. Corolla.--Small; two-lipped; the upper lip erect, usually notched, the lower three-cleft. Stamens.--Two; erect; protruding. Pistil.--One, with a two-lobed style.

In late August or early September the delicate flowers of the dittany brighten the dry, sterile banks which flank so many of our roadsides. At a season when few plants are flowering save the omnipresent members of the great composite family these dainty though unpretentious blossoms are especially attractive. The plant has a pleasant fragrance.