Pennyroyal (Lat. puleium regium).

I. A Species Of Mint

A Species Of Mint, rnentha pulegium, having the general characters of the genus (see Mint), but with smaller leaves than in any other useful species, being seldom over half an inch long. It is a perennial, very common in the south of Europe, and found as far north as Denmark; and it also grows in portions of Asia and Africa. Its odor, due to an essential oil, is very strong, quite distinct from that of other mints, and to most persons much less agreeable. In former times it was held in high esteem, and its medicinal virtues are recorded by Dios-corides and by Pliny, who recommends it to be hung in sleeping rooms as more conducive to health than roses. Except as a domestic remedy, pennyroyal has fallen into disuse, as its properties are not different from those of other similar aromatics; the oil, which has the properties of the plant in a concentrated form, is kept in the shops. IL A plant so called in this country, which is not a mint, but belongs to a different genus, hedeoma, which differs from mentha in the shape of the flower, number of stamens, and other minute characters.

American pennyroyal (H. pulegioides) is found over a large portion of the country, preferring arid situations; it is a much - branching, hairy annual, less than a foot high, with oblong - ovate, petioled leaves, and small bluish flowers, few in a cluster. Its aroma closely resembles that of the European pennyroyal, and it is used for similar purposes; its use is mainly confined to domestic practice, in the form of a warm infusion or tea, being regarded as useful in suppressed menstruation. The volatile oil is officinal; it has a reputation for repelling mosquitoes, black flies, and other insects annoying to the hunter or explorer in wooded regions, which experience does not confirm.