ITp^ENA. XCII. VERBENACE^. ^^1 



1. P. Canadensis. (P. gladiata. Michz.) Lousewort. 



Hirsute ; 5^ simple ; Ivs. alternate, petiolate, lance-oblong, pinnatifid, 

 lobes oblong-ovate, crenate-dentate ; 5;^;^^ short, dense, leafy; cat. truncate 

 downwards ; co?: 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 comer. Capsule pro- 

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



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

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



2. P. LANCEOLATA. Michx. (P. pallida. Pk.) Branching Lcntsewort. 



Nearly glabrous ; si. branched ; Ivs. subopposite, briefly petiolate or ses- 

 sile, oblong-lanceolate, doubly incised-crenate ; spike rather 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—1 J'. Spilces 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 shiort, 

 broadly ov^oid. Sept. 



29. MELAMPfRUM. 



Gr. ueXflf, black, izvpos, wheat ; the seeds blacken the flour of wheatif ffrouiid withit. 



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 cyliudric-oblong, smooth. — 

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



M. PRATENSE. /?. Americamim. Benth. (M. Americanum. Mz.) Caw 

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

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

 Ky. Stem with opposite branches, 8 — 10' high, round, erect. Leaves opposite, 

 1 li' 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. VEKBENACE^.— Vervains. 



Trees and shrubs, sometimes herbs. Lvs. generally opposite, simple or compound, exstipulate. 



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



Cal. tubular, 4— Stoothed, inferior, persistent. 



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



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



Ova. 2— 4-celIed : ovules erector pendulous, solitary or twin. StJjIe 1. 



Pr. drupaceous, baccate or dry, dividing into 2 or 4 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 of the 

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

 justly styled the " Oak of the East," is a timber tree of immense size and great durability, often attaining 

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

 unimportant. 



Conspectus oj the Genera. 



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



Un spikes or spiked corj-mbs. {Corolla bilabiate, nodding in fruit Phryma. 3 



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



I. VERBENA. 



Celtic /rt)/««ra, 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 ivith op- 

 posite lvs. Fls. mostly altcrnaidv spicatc, rarely capitate or corymbed. 

 35*' 



