Subfamily

VII. Subfam. Nepetoideae (Dumort.) Luerss. (1882).

VII. 2. Tribe Mentheae Dumort. (1827).

VII. 2. B. Subtribe Menthinae (Dumort.) Endl. (1838).

Description

Subshrub, apparently gynodioecious, aromatic, with whitish hairs; stems densely white-pilose; leaves small, densely gland-dotted, subentire, ą orbicular to elliptic, often with densely white-hairy, rounded buds in axils; inflorescence of few-flowered verticillasters congested to form short, spiciform thyrses, usually shortly pedunculate, reduced toward stem apex; bracts leaf-like; bracteoles inconspicuous; flowers very small, subsessile; calyx ovoid-cylindrical, actinomorphic, equally 5-lobed, lobes short, broadly triangular, hairy within, tube 5-nerved, intercostal nerves ą obsolete, 5-angled, glands on calyx and bracteoles turning reddish orange; corolla weakly 2-lipped, 5-lobed (2/3), white, lips spreading, lobes subequal, corolla-tube scarcely exserted from calyx, exannulate but hairy within; stamens in hermaphrodite flowers slightly exserted from corolla-tube, thecae slightly divergent, distinct; disc ą equal, with anterior side slightly swollen; stigma-lobes short, flattened, subequal; nutlets ovoid, smooth, often only 1 developing. One species, Z. multiflora Boiss. Open, rocky areas, often near seasonal streams, S Iran, E Afghanistan, Pakistan.

Distribution

Native to:

34 Western Asia
35 Arabian Peninsula
40 Indian Subcontinent

Publication

Zataria Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Or. Nov. ser. 1, 5: 18 (1884).

Image resource

Š Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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