Genus i. 



VERVAIN I VMILA 



I. Verbena officinalis L. European Ver- 

 vain. Herb-of-the-Cross. Berbine. 

 Fig- 355-- 



Verbena officinalis L. Sp. PI. 20. 1753. 



Annual ; stem 4-sided, slender, glabrous or nearly 

 so, ascending or spreading, diffusely branched, 

 l-3 high. Leaves minutely pubescent, the lower 

 deeply incised or 1-2 pinnatifid, ovate, oblong, or 

 obovate in outline. 1' 3' long, narrowed into mar- 

 gined petioles, the teeth acute ; upper leaves 

 linear or lanceolate, acute, entire, sessile; spikes 

 several or numerous, filiform, at length 4-5' long; 

 fruits less than 1" high, scattered along the spikes, 

 not at all imbricated; bracts ovate, acuminate 

 shorter than the 5-toothed calyx ; corolla pur- 

 plish or white, the limb l"-2" broad. 



In waste and cultivated ground, Maine to Florida. 

 Tennessee and Texas. Also on the Pacific Coast 

 and in the West Indies. Naturalized from the Old 

 World. Sometimes a troublesome weed. Herb-grace. 

 Holy-herb. Enchanter's-plant. Juno's-tears. Pigeon's- 

 grass. Simpler's-joy. June Sept. 



2. Verbena urticifolia L. White or Nettle-leaved Vervain. Fig. 3553. 



Verbena urticifolia L. Sp. PI. 20. 1753. 



V. urticifolia riparia Britton, Mem. Torn Club 5 : 276. 



1894. 

 V, riparia Raf . ; Small & Heller, Mem. Torr. Club 3: 12. 



1892. 



Perennial, usually pubescent : stem slender, strict, 

 erect, 4-sided, paniculately branched above, 3-5 

 high, the branches upright. Leaves oVate, oblong, 

 or oblong-lanceolate, all petioled, or the uppermost 

 sessile, serrate-dentate all around, or incised, some- 

 times 3-cleft near the base, thin, acute or acuminate, 

 mostly rounded at the base, li'-s' long; spikes nu- 

 merous, filiform, erect, or spreading, at length 4'-6' 

 long ; fruits oblong, scattered, not at all imbricated, 

 about 1" high; bracts ovate, acuminate, shorter than 

 the calyx ; corolla white, blue or pale purple, its limb 

 about 1" broad. 



In fields and waste places. New Brunswick to South 

 Dakota, Kansas, Florida and Texas. Hybridizes with 

 V. bracteosa, V. hastata and V. stricta. June-Sept. 



Verbena carolinensis (Walt.1 Gmel., with sessile, 

 spatulate to oblong leaves and larger bluish flowers, 

 native of the Southeastern States, is recorded as occur- 

 ring north to Virginia. 



3. Verbena hastata L. Blue or False Ver- 

 vain. Wild Hyssop. Fig. 3554. 



Verbena hastata L. Sp. PI. 20. 1753. 

 Verbena pinnatifida Lam. Tabl. Encycl. I : 57. 1791. 

 Verbena pamculata Lam. Encycl. 8: 548. 1808. 

 Verbena hastata pinnatifida Britton, Mem. Torr. Club 

 5: 276. 1894. 



Perennial, roughish-puberulent ; stem erect, strict, 

 4-sided, usually branched above, 3-7 high. Leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, petioled, acute or 

 acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, ser- 

 rate or incised-dentate with acute teeth, sometimes 

 pinnatifid, 3-6' long, the lower sometimes hastately 

 3-lobed at the base ; spikes numerous, panicled, slen- 

 der, usually peduncled, 2 '-6' long ; fruits densely 

 imbricated on the spikes, l"-lj" high; bracts ovate, 

 acuminate, shorter than the calyx ; corolla blue, 

 white, or sometimes pink, its limb about li" broad. 



In moist fields, meadows and in waste places, Nova 

 Scotia to British Columbia, Florida, Nebraska and Ari- 

 zona. Hybridizes with V. stricta and V. bracteosa. 

 American vervain. Purvain. Iron-weed. June-Sept. 



