239 



EssENTiAi. Character. — CalyM tubular, persistent, inferior. <7oroWa hypogynous, 

 monopetalous, tubular, deciduous, generally with an irregular limb. Stamens usually 4, 

 didynamous, seldom equal, occasionally 2. Ovarium 2- or 4-celled ; oiniles erect or pendu- 

 lous, solitary or twin ; style 1 ; stiyma bifid or undivided. Fruit drupaceous, or baccate. 



Seeds erect or pendulous; albumen none, or in very small quantity; embryo erect Trees 



or shrubs, sometimes herbaceous plants. Leaves generally opposite, simple or compound, 

 without stipulae. Flowers in opposite corymbs, or spiked alternately ; sometimes in dense 

 heads ; very seldom axillary and solitai^'. 



Affinities. The difference between these plants and Labiatse consists 

 in the concrete carpella of the former, their terminal style, and the usual 

 absence of reservoirs of oil from their leaves, as contrasted with the deeply 

 4-lobed ovarium and aromatic leaves of the latter. There are, however, par- 

 ticular species of Labiatse which approach Verbenacese very closely, so that 

 Mr. Brown has remarked {Congo, 451.), that it has been difficult to distin- 

 o:uish the two orders. Verbenacese differ from Myoporinese and Selaginea? 

 in the position of the radicle, which in the former points to the base, and in 

 the two latter to the apex of the fruit. There are also other points of differ- 

 ence, which will be mentioned under those orders. Acanthaceae and Scro- 

 phularinese differ in not having 1-or 2- seeded indehiscent cells. Mr. Brown 

 remarks, that although all the genera of Verbenacese have an embryo whose 

 radicle points towards the base of the fruit, yet many of them have pendu- 

 lous seeds, and consequently a radicle remote from the umbilicus. Flinders, 

 567. Aug. de St. Hilaire asserts, that all, except Avicennia, have a sessile 

 erect ovulum arising from the base of each cell. PL Usuelles, 40. Mr. 

 Brown, however, places Avicennia in Myoporinese. 



Geography. Rare in Europe, northern Asia, and North America; 

 common in the tropics of both hemispheres, and in the temperate districts of 

 South America. In the tropics they become shrubs, or even gigantic timber, 

 but in colder latitudes they are mere herbs. 



Properties. Not of much importance in a medicinal or economical 

 point of view. Callicarpa lanata bark has a peculiar subaromatic and slightly 

 bitterish taste, and is chewed by the Cingalese when they cannot obtain Betel 

 leaves; the Malays reckon the plant diuretic. Ainslie, 2. 180. Stachytar- 

 pheta jamaicensis is a plant to which the Brazilians attach the same false 

 notions of powerful action as Europeans formerly did to the common Ver- 

 vain. Its leaves are sometimes used to adulterate Chinese Tea, and have 

 even been sent to Europe under the name of Brazilian Tea. PL Usuelles, 

 p. 39. M. Auguste St. Hilaire speaks in terms of high praise of the agree- 

 able properties of the aromatic Lantana pseudo-thea, used in infusion as 

 tea. It is highly esteemed in Brazil, where it is vulgarly called Capitao 

 do matto, or Cha de pedreste. Ihid. p. 70. The root of Premna integri- 

 folia is cordial and stomachic in decoction. Ainslie, 2. 210. Silex exists 

 in abundance in the wood of the Teak Tree (Tectona grandis), which belongs 

 here. Ed. P. J. 3. 413. The properties formerly ascribed to the Vervain 

 appear to have been imaginary. 



Examples. Verbena, Vitex, Clerodendron, Callicarpa. 



CCXXI. LABIATE. The Mint Tribe. 



Labiatje, Juss. Gen. 110. (1789); R. Brown Prodr. 499. (1810); Mirbel in Ann. Mus. 

 15. 213. (1810); Lindl. Synops. 196. (1829); Bentham in Bot. Key. (1829.) 



Diagnosis. Monopetalous dicotyledons, with a superior 4-lobed ova- 

 rium, and irregular unsymmetrical flowers. 

 Anomalies. 



