Verbena. XCII. VERBENACEiE. 411 



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



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

 lobes oblong-ovate, crenate-dentate ; spike short, dense, leafy; cal. 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 i' long. May — July. 



0. 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 Lmisewcrrt. 



Nearly glabrous ; st. 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 — U'. Spikes 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. fteXai, black, nvpoi, 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 with opposite Ivs. Fls. solitary in the upper axils. 



M. PRATEN'SE. (i. Amencanum. Benth. (M. Americanum, Mx.) Caw 

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

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

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



Trua and nhrubs, sometimes herbs. Lvs. generally opposite, simple or compound, e.vstipulate. 



Fta. in axillarj' corymbs or dense heads, or alternate-spicate. 



Cal. tubular, 4— 5 toofheii, inferior, persi-^fent. 



Cor. tubular, the limb biiiibiatc or irreiruiurly 4— 5-cleft, deciduous. 



Sla. 4. didyiiHmous, seldom etiual.ocra^ionally only 2. 



Ova. 2— 4-celledj ovules erector pcndulouH, solitary or twin. Snj?e 1. 



Fr. drupaceous, baccate or dry, dividing into 2 or 4 l-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 grandis), native of India, 

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

 the heieht of lOO feet. The wood contains sile.x. The medicinal properties of the tribe are little known or 

 unimportant. 



Conspectus of the Genera. 



< Corolla sul)e<)ual, funnel form. .... Verbena. 1 



t in spikes or spiked corymbs. \ Corolla bilabiate, nodding in fruit JPhrijtna. 3 



Flowers I in small pedunculate, axiUao' heads Lippia. 2 



I. VERBENA. 



Celtic /<77/i7ru, to remove stone, hence EiiR. vervain and Lat. verbena. 



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

 funnel-form, limb .deleft, nearly equal ; stamens 4 (rarely but 2) ; 

 seeds 2 — 4, enclo.sed in a tliin, evanescent pericarp. — Herbs with &p- 

 posit'' /?'.«. Fh. mosth/ til/rrnafr/?/ spirnfr, rnrrly capita fe or corymheti.. 

 35* ■ 



