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Perilla (said to be a native name in India; by others, a Greek and Latin proper name). Labiatae. Herbs, one of which is sometimes grown for the colored foliage.
Erect, with opposite lvs. and small fls. in whorls of 2 that are aggregated into axillary and terminal simple or panicled racemes: calyx bell-shaped, 5-toothed, much' enlarged and gibbous in fr.; corolla short-tubed, the tube not exceeding calyx, limb oblique and somewhat unequally 5-lobed; stamens 4, erect and separate; disk represented by a large gland; style 2-parted.—Two or 3 species, Himalaya region to China and Japan. The plant known in gardens as P. nankinensis is distinct by the color of its foliage. The lvs. are a dark wine-purple, with a bronzy luster. These colors are .more or less toned with green, especially in young plants. It is an annual herb, growing about 1 1/2 ft. high. It is considerably used in subtropical beds and for the back of ribbon borders. It is sometimes planted next to a dusty miller or other white-lvd. plants for the sake of contrast. The foliage has an odor suggesting cinnamon. In Japan the perilla is of economic importance for the production of oil.
Perillas need a sunny or at least half-sunny position. They thrive under the treatment given half-hardy annuals. Sow the seeds thinly and cover nearly an inch. Avoid planting too closely; leggy specimens are unattractive, and the plant has a tendency to become weedy. The flowers are inconspicuous and produced in autumn. Before the introduction of the coleus, this plant was much used as an ornamental flower-garden plant, but in our warmer summers it is displaced by the more brilliantly colored and free-growing forms of that plant.
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:''This article is about the plant genus and its human use. For the spider genus see [[Perilla (spider)]].
:''This article is about the plant genus and its human use. For the spider genus see [[Perilla (spider)]].
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