AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 
MT 
Verbesina-—continued. 
lobes oval, erose-dentate, the terminal one somewhat deltoid. 
Branches four-winged. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1812. Stove. Syns. 
Platypteris crocata, Spilanthes erocata (B. M. 1627). 
V. encelioides (Encelia-like). fl.-heads yellow, disposed in a 
somewhat corymbose manner; achenes of the rays wingless, 
three-toothed, those of the disk winged, two-awned. August. 
l ovate or oblong, coarsely serrated; petioles broadly winged, 
auricled at base. Stem erect, 2ft. to dft. high. Mexico, 1785. 
A eanescent, greenhouse annual. Syn, Xi ia enceliord 
V. pinnatifida (pinnatifid-leaved). fl.-heads pale yellow; 
involucral scales blackish, linear-lanceolate, acute; rays about 
twelve, oblong; panicles opposite, branched, corymbose at apex. 
August. l. opposite, long-decurrent, pinnatifid, long-cuneate at 
base, hairy-puberulous on both sides, especially on the nerves. 
Stem four-winged, tomentose. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1826. Green- 
house. See Fig. 162. 
V. sativa (cultivated). A synonym of Veslingia sativa. 
V. vir ca (Virginian). /.-heads white, in compound corymbs ; 
ray florets three or four, oval. August. J. ‘alternate, ovate- 
lanceolate, feather-veined, toothed or lobed, decurrent, below, 
as well as the narrowly or interruptedly-winged stem, downy- 
pubescent. A. 2ft. North America, 1812. Hardy. 
VEREIA. A synonym of Kalanchoe (which see). 
VERGE-CUTTER. Another name for an edging- 
iron, a tool which is employed for cutting grass verges 
by the side of walks, flower-beds, &oc., also for cutting 
out new beds in turf. The simple form with crescent- 
FIG. 163. VERGE-CUTTER. 
shaped blade (see Fig. 163) is the best, as it may be 
guided by the hand to cut in whatever direction is 
desired. It is unnecessary, as a rule, to use a Verge- 
cutter for the edges of walks more than once a year— 
spring is the best season— the shears being sufficient for 
the rest of the year. By the continued use of an edging- 
iron on both sides of a walk, the latter very soon becomes 
considerably widened. 
VERMICULAR. Worm-shaped. 
VERMIFUGA. A synonym of Flaveria (which see). 
VERNAL. Appearing in spring. 
VERNAL GRASS. The common name for Antho- 
xanthum odoratum (which see). 
VERNATION. The disposition of the leaves within 
a leaf-bud, 
VWERNICOSE. Covered with natural varnish; 
appearing as if varnished. 
VERNONIA (named in honour of William Vernon, a 
botanical traveller in North America). Ironweed. Including 
Ascaricida and Webbia. ORD. Composite. A vast genus 
(about 380 species) of stove, greenhouse, or hardy, annual 
or perennial herbs or shrubs, broadly distributed, chiefly 
ia 
` America. 
Vernonia—continued. 
in the tropics, but most copiously in the warmer parts of 
Flower-heads purple, reddish, bluish, or rarely 
white, terminal, solitary, cymose, or paniculate, homo- 
gamous; involucral bracts in many series, the inner 
longest; receptacle naked or pitted, sometimes shortly | 
hairy; florets all equal, tubular, slender, narrowly five- 
cleft; achenes striated, ribbed, or angled, rarely terete; 
pappus of many hairs, often girt with a row of outer 
short hairs or flattened bristles. Leaves alternate (or in 
one Brazilian species opposite), entire or toothed, penni- 
veined, sessile or petiolate. Few of the species are known 
to cultivation, the majority being mere weeds. Those 
described below thrive in rich, light soil, and may be 
readily increased by seeds, cuttings, or divisions, according 
to the nature of the plant. 
Y. acutifolia (acute-leaved). A.-heads pale purple, sub-sessile at 
the sides of the branches ; involucre hemispherical ; florets forty. 
December. IL sessile, linear, acuminate, reticulate - nerved, 
slightly serrated, glabrous above, obscurely pilose beneath. 
Stem erect, terete. A. At. South America. Greenhouse peren- 
nial. (B. M. 3062. 
V. axilliflora (axillary-flowered). /1.-heads violet-purple, sessile, 
much shorter than the floral leaves ; cymes long, scorpioid, ter- 
minal, September. J, shortly petiolate, te acute 
at both ends, nearly entire, scabrous and pilose above, villous- 
tomentose beneath. Branches terete, villous. h. 14ft. | 
Stove shrub. (L. B. C. 1690.) . 
at base. Stem stout, sulcate, branched, tomentose-pubescent. 
T MT Cameroons, 1861. A magnificent, stove shrub. 
V. centriflora (centre-flowered). A synonym of V. scorpioides. 
V. flexuosa (flexuous). .-heads purple or white; involucre 
campanulate, the bracts mucronate-acuminate ; cymes scorpioid. 
September. J. sessile, oblong or linear-lanceolate, nearly entire, 
scabrous-pilose on both sides. Stem herbaceous, from a tuberous 
n h. lift. Brazil, 1823. Stove. (B. M. 2477; L. B. C. 
V. noveboracensis (New York) . /A.-heads purple; involucral ` ` 
scales tipped with a long, bristle or awl-shaped, spreading 
appendage, in some varieties merely pointed. August, J. lan- 
ceolate or oblong. h. 5ft. North America, 1710. Hardy perennial. 
V. odoratissima, (highly odorous). /.-heads purple ; involucral 
scales acuminate; cymes disposed in a panicle. October. J. 
shortly petiolate, rigid, obovate, cuneate at base, slightly toothed 
at apex, scabrid above, reticulated and hirsute-pubescent 
beneath: Stem terete, shrubby. À. 4ft. Caraccas, 1817. Stove, 
V. pinifolia (Pine-leaved). /.-heads bright purple; involucral 
scales mucronate, canescent; corymbs Jin. to 8in. across, mostly 
compound, of many heads, flat-topped. Summer. J. sessile, 
crowded, linear, acute, lin. to Aën, long, half to four lines wide, 
becoming glabrous above, the margins revolute. Stems lft. to 
2ft. high, mostly closely leafy throughout. South Africa, 1863. 
Greenhouse perennial Syn. Webbia pinifolia (B. M. 5412). eg 
V. scorpioides (scorpioid-cymed). fl.-heads lilac-rose, sessile, 
contiguous; involucral scales hairy, the inner ones acuminate, 
- the outer ovate ; cymes scorpioid, recurved, leafless, approximate. 
Summer. I petiolate, elliptic, acute, pubescent beneath. A. lft. 
Brazil and West Indies, 1874. Stove shrub. (R. H. 1874, 231.) 
Syn. V. centriftrora. ; 
V. sericea (silky. jl.-heads purple or white, sessile, solitary or 
twin in the axils; involucre campanulate, the outer scales re- 
curved, mucronate, the inner ones obt D b l. very 
shortly petiolate, lanceolate, acuminate, sub-obtuse at base, 
sub-entire, nearly glabrous above, adpressedly pubescent beneath. 
Stem terete, striated, very slightly puberulous. A. 4ft. Brazil, 
1823. Stove sub-shrub. (B. R. 522.) 
VERONICA (a medieval name of doubtful deriva- 
tion, probably from hiera eicon, sacred image; in allusion ` 
to the legend of the sacred handkerchief of 8. Veronica). 
Cancerwort; Speedwell. Including Diplophyllum and 
Leptandra. ORD. Scrophularinee, A genus comp: 
about 160 species of greenhouse or hardy herbs, shrubs, 
or rarely trees, broadly dispersed over temperate and 
frigid regions. Flowers often varying in colour in the same 
species, blue, purple, flesh-coloured, or white, disposed 
in bracteate, terminal or axillary racemes, rarely solitary 
in the axils of alternate leaves; calyx four, five, or very 
rarely three-parted, the segments scarcely imbricated ; 
corolla tube rarely exceeding the calyx; limb spreading, 
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