leaves more congested at the base of the branches, the spikes denser and
shorter, the floral leaves lanceolate or linear, and the presence of
linear and subulate bractes.

It yields by distillation an oil termed "oil of spike," or, to
distinguish it from oil of _L. stæchas_, "true oil of spike." It is
darker in color than the oil of _L. vera_, and much less grateful in
odor, reminding one of turpentine and rancid coker nut oil. It is used
by painters on porcelain, and in the manufacture of varnishes. It is
often largely admixed with essence of turpentine.

_L. Stæchas_ (Stichas) was discovered prior to the year 50 A.D. in the
Stæchades Islands (now the Islands of Hyères), hence the name. At
present it is found wild in the South of Europe and North of Africa,
also at Teneriffe. The leaves are oblong linear, about half an inch long
(sometimes an inch long when cultivated), with revolute edges and
clothed with hoary tomentum on both surfaces; the spike is tetragonal,
compact, with a tuft of purple leaves at the top; the calyces are ovate
and slightly shorter than the tube of the corolla. The whole plant has a
strong aromatic and agreeable flavor. There is a variety of this species
(_L. macrostàchya_) native of Corsica, Sicily, and Naples, which has
broader leaves and thicker octagonal spikes.

_L. stæchas_ is known in Spain as "Romero Santo" (sacred rosemary). Its
essential oil (also that of _L. dentata_) is there obtained for
household use by suspending the fresh flowering stalks, flowers
downward, in closed bottles and exposing them for some time in the sun's
rays; a mixture of water and essential oil collects at the bottom, which
is used as a hæmostatic and for cleansing wounds.