Verbena, XCII. VERBENACE^. 411 



1. P. Canadensis. (P. gladiata. Michx.) Lousewmi. 



Hirsute ; st. simple ; Ivs. alternate, petiolate, lance-oblong, pinnatifid, 

 lobes oblong-ovate, crenate-dentate ; .-^pike short, dense, leafy; col. truncate 

 downwards ; cor. galea abruptly incurved, with 2 setaceous teeth ; caps, acu- 

 minate. — % Pastures and low grounds, U. S. ! & Can. Stem erect, a foot high. 

 Leaves 3 — 6' by 1—2', chiefly radical. Spike short, hairy, with a few small 

 leaves at the base. Calyx truncated in an oblique direction downwards. Co- 

 rolla yellowish and purple ; the upper lip long, erect, forming a galea or helmet 

 cut square off at the end, with a bristle-like tooth at each corner. Capsule pro- 

 longed into a lanceolate point J' long. May — July. 



p. gladiata (P. gladiata Mx.). Caps, prolongated into an ensiform point 

 which is J — 1' in length. Plant rather taller. 



2. P. LANCEOLATA. Michx. (P. pallida. Ph.) Branching Lousercort. 



Nearly glabrous ; st. branched ; lis. subopposite, briefly petiolate or ses- 

 sile, oblong-lanceolate, doubly incised-crenate ; spike r-d\hsv dense; cal. 2-lobed; 

 cor. galea as long as the lip, incurved at apex, ending in a short, conical beak.- 



%. In alluvial woods, &c. N. Y. ! to Wis. Lapham, ! S. to Va. Stem 1 2f in 



height, smooth, with pubescent lines, nearly opposite leaves and a few axilla- 

 ry branches. Leaves 3—5' by 1 — IJ'. Spilies 1 — 2' in length, with ovate-lan- 

 ceolate bracts. Calyx and corolla smooth, the latter greenish-yellow, an inch 

 in length, with the galea somewhat emarginate at the end. Capsule short, 

 broadly ovoid. Sept. 



29. MELAMPYRUM. 



Gr. fieXas, black, irvpos, wheat; the seeds blacken the flour of wheat if ground with it. 



Calyx 4-cleft ; upper lip of the corolla compressed, the margin 

 folded back ; lower lip grooved, trifid ; capsule 2-celled, oblique, 

 opening laterally, cells 2-seeded ; seeds cylindric-oblong, smooth. — 

 Herbs tvith opposite Ivs. Fls. solitary in the upper axils. 



M. PRATENSE. 0. Americanum. Benth. (M. Americanum. 3fx.) Cmo 

 Wheat. — Lvs. linear and lanceolate, petiolate, glabrous, the upper ones 

 toothed at base ; fls. axillary, distinct. — Inhabits woods, Can. to Ga., W. to 

 Ky. Stem with opposite branches, 8 — 10' high, i-ound, erect. Leaves opposite 

 1 U' by 3 — 5", the floral ones broader, with setaceous teeth at base and taper- 

 ing to an obtuse point. Flowers in the axils of the upper leaves, yellowish, 

 slender, the corolla twice the length of the calyx. Capsules acute; declined, 4- 

 seeded. Jl. 



Order XCII. VERBENACE^.— Vervains. 



Trees and shrubs, sometimes fie7-bs. Lvs. generally opposite, simple or compound, e.\stipulate. 



Fls. in axillary corymbs or dense heads, or alternate-spicate. 



Cal. tubular, 4— 5-toothed, inferior, persistent. 



Cor. tubular, the limb bilabiate or irregularly 4— 5-cleft, deciduous. 



Sla. 4, didynamous, seldom equal, occasionally only 2. 



Ova. 2 — 4-celled: ovules erector pendulous, solitary or twin. Style 1. 



Fr. drupaceous, baccate or dry, dividing into2or4 1-seeded portions. 



Seeds with little or no albumen. 



Genera 56, species 610, the herbs chiefly natives of temperate regions and the shrubs and trees ofthb 

 tropics, where they are in some instances very large. The teak-wood (Tectona grandis), native of India, 

 justly styled the " Oak of the Ea.st," is a timber tree of immense size and great durability, often attai.ninp 

 the height of 100 feet. The wood contains silex. The medicinal properties of the tribe are little known oi 

 unimportant. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



< Corolla subequal, funnel-form. .... Verbena. 1 



Un spikes or spiked corymbs. ( Corolla bilabiate, nodding in fruit Phrytna.Z 



Flowers (in small pedunculate, a.\illary heads Lippia. 2 



I. VERBENA. 



CeKic farfaen, to remove stone, hence Eng. vervain and Lat. verbena. 



Calyx 5-toothed, with one of the teeth often truncate ; corolla 

 funnel-form, limb 5-cleft, nearly equal ; stamens 4 (rarely but 2) ; 

 seeds 2 — 4, enclosed in a thin, evanescent pericarp. — Herbs with op- 

 posite lvs. Fls. mostly alternately spicaic^ rarely capitate or corymbed. 

 3,5* 



