190 VERVAIN FAMILY 



VERVAIN FAMILY (Verhenaceae) 



Flowers small, 4-5-lobed, in clusters or spikes. Stamens 2 or 

 4. Leaves usually opposite. Fruit pulpy or of 2 or 4 nutlets. 



Verbena (Genus Verbena) 



Our larger verbenas resemble garden verbenas in their 

 flat-topped spikes of lavender or purple flowers, only a 

 little smaller in size than the cultivated varieties. These 

 verbenas are more common toward the coast, where they 

 lie in flowery mats on the dunes, or grow upright in low 

 thickets. V. carolinensis, common in the interior, differs 

 from these in its very narrow spike of smaller flowers. 



Verbena maritima. Flowers purplish, tubular below, ex- 

 panded and 5-lobed above, 1/2 in. across, in many-flowered 

 spikes. Stamens 4. Stems spreading, 1-2 ft. long. Leaves 

 wedge-shaped, about 1 in. long, toothed or lobed. Chiefly 

 near the coast. Blooming all the year. Fla. peninsula. 



Verbena Lambertii. Flowers light purple. Stems 1-3 ft. 

 long, often erect. Leaves 1-3 in. long, broadest near base, 

 deeply toothed or lobed. Sandy soil and swampy places. 

 Blooming all the year. Fla. to Tenn., Texas, and Ark. 



Verbena carolinensis. Flowers variously colored, white, 

 pink, or bluish, very small, in slender spikes. Stems 6-30 

 in. tall. Leaves oblong, toothed, 1-4 in. long. Dry soil. 

 Blooming in spring. Fla. to Va. 



Fog-Fruit {Lippia nodiflora) 



This plant of low growth, with compact stalked heads, 

 less than one-half inch long, of minute bluish flowers, 

 is common on river banks and other damp places, where the 

 creeping stems form extensive mats. The opposite leaves, 

 one-half to one inch long, are broadened upward, and are 

 shallowly toothed near the apex. A related species is used 

 on lawns in California and in southern Europe as a substi- 

 tute for grass. 



