Tall erect herbs, with palmately cleft, parted or dentate leaves, and small white or pink flowers verticillate in dense axillary clusters. Calyx tubular-campanulate, 5-nerved, nearly regular and equally 5-toothed, the teeth rigid, subulate or aristate. Tube of the corolla included or slightly exserted, its limb 2- lipped; upper lip erect, concave or nearly flat, entire; lower lip spreading or deflexed, 3-lobed, the middle lobe broad, obcordate or emarginate. Stamens 4, didynamous, the anterior pair the longer, ascending under the upper lip of the corolla; anthers 2-celled, the sacs mostly parallel. Ovary deeply 4-parted; style 2-cleft at the summit. Nutlets 3-sided, smooth. [Greek, lion's-tail]

About 10 species, natives of Europe and Asia. Type species: Leonurus Cardiaca L. Lower leaves palmately 2-5-cleft, the upper 3-cleft.

1. L. Cardiaca.

Leaves deeply 3-parted, the segments cleft and incised.

2. L. sibiricus.

Leaves coarsely dentate or incised-dentate.

3. L. Marrubiastrum.

1. Leonurus Cardiaca L. Motherwort

Fig. 3607

Leonurus Cardiaca L. Sp. Pl. 584. 1753.

Perennial, puberulent; stem rather stout, strict, commonly branched, 2°-5° tall, the branches straight and ascending. Leaves membranous, slender-petioled, the lower nearly orbicular, pal-mately 3-5-cleft, 2'-4' broad, the lobes acuminate, incised or dentate; upper (floral) leaves narrower, oblong-lanceolate or rhombic, 3-cleft, or the uppermort merely 3-toothed; flower-clusters numerous, exceeded by the petioles; calyx-teeth lanceolate, subulate, somewhat spreading, nearly as long as the tube; corolla pink, purple or white, 3"-5" long, its tube with an oblique ring of hairs within, us upper lip slightly concave, densely white-woolly without, the lower lip mottled; anther-sacs parallel.

In waste places, Nova Scotia to North Carolina, South Dakota, Montana, Kansas and Utah. Naturalized from Europe. Native also of Asia. Also called cowthwort. Lion's-ear. June-Sept.

2. Leonurus Sibiricus L. Siberian Motherwort Or Lion's-Tail

Fig. 3608

Leonurus sibiricus L. Sp. Pl. 584. 1753.

Biennial, puberulent or glabrate; stem stout, branched, 2°-6° high, the branches slender. Leaves long-petioled, deeply 3-parted into ovate or lanceolate, more or less cuneate, acute or acuminate deeply cleft and incised segments, the lobes lanceolate or linear, acute; lower leaves sometimes 6' wide, the uppermost linear or lanceolate, slightly toothed or entire; clusters numerous, dense, usually all axillary; calyx campanulate, 3" long, glabrous or minutely puberulent, its bristle-shaped teeth slightly spreading, shorter than the tube; corolla purple or red, densely puberulent without, 4"-6" long, its tube naked within, the upper lip arched; anther-sacs divergent.

In waste and cultivated soil, southern Pennsylvania and Delaware. Bermuda. Naturalized from eastern Asia. Widely distributed in tropical America as a weed. May-Sept.

3. Leonurus Marrubiastrum L. Hoar-Hound Motherwort Or Lion's-Tail

Fig. 3609. Leonurus Marrubiastrum L. Sp. Pl. 584. 1753

Biennial, puberulent or pubescent; stem stout, branched, 2°-5° high. Leaves petioled, ovate or ovate-oblong, acute or obtuse at the apex, narrowed at the base, coarsely crenate or in-cised-dentate, 1-3' long, 1/2'-1 1/2' wide, the upper narrower; flower-clusters dense, numerous, axillary; calyx finely puberulent or glabrate, its bristle-shaped somewhat spreading teeth mostly shorter than the tube; corolla nearly white, glabrate, about 4" long, its tube scarcely exceeding the calyx, naked within, its lower lip ascending.

In waste places, southern Pennsylvania and Delaware. Recorded from New Jersey. Naturalized from Europe. Native also of Asia. June-Sept.