VERBENACEJi— VERBENA TRIBE 61 



a favoiirite because of its strongly fragrant leaves ; this shrub is the Verbena 

 irvphyUa of older botanists, but is now called Aloysitt citriodora. Some of the 

 plants of the order are used for remedial purposes, but few of them are 

 remarkable either for their medicinal or economic uses. 



Vervain {VerMna). — Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla unequally 5-cleft; stamens 

 shorter than the tube of the corolla. Name, the Latin name of the plant. 



Vervain ( Ferbena). 



Common Vervain (/". officindlis). — Stamens 4 ; stem erect, 4-angled, 

 somewhat rough ; leaves shining above, rough beneath, lanceolate, cut and 

 serrated, or 3-cleft with cut segments ; spikes slender, somewhat panicled ; 

 bracts alwut half the length of the calyx ; perennial. The Vervain is a very 

 common plant in England, while in Ireland it is local, and in Scotland it is 

 not a native. It is remarkable for growing in the neighbourhood of towns 

 and villages, and is seldom, perhaps never, found at the distance of more than 

 a mile from houses. It grows on barren grounds, on stony pastures, heaths, 

 and sea-clifis, and is a slender plant, branched above, Avith very few leaves, 

 and with flowers which are remarkably small for the size of the herb. 

 They are of a pale lilac colour, and form terminal slender spikes in July and 

 August. 



The interest excited in these days by the Verbenas is directed to the 

 beautiful garden species, which are natives of America, and far handsomer 

 than our wild plant in their showy clusters of pink, purple, white or dazzling 

 scarlet blossoms. But few of our native plants derive a greater interest from 

 old associations than our common Vervain. It rivals the Mistletoe in the 

 number of ancient usages connected with it, and might, like that plant, serve 

 to awaken in the thoughtful mind a thankful spirit for the clearer light 

 revealed to men of modern days. As Gerarde, however, justly said, "Manie 

 old wives' fables are written of vervayne tending to witchcraft and sorcerie, 

 which you may read elsewhere, for I am not willing to trouble your eare with 

 such trifles." The Druids regarded this herb with peculiar reverence, and 

 Pliny relates how, in Gaul, they often used it in casting lots, telling fortunes, 

 and foreshowing future national events, gathering it with peculiar ceremonies. 

 It was to be sought for when the great Dog-star was just rising in the' 

 heavens, and when plucked, an offering of honeycomb was to be made to the 

 Earth as a recompense for depriving her of so goodly a herb. The Romans, 

 too, held it in high honour, and the ancients generallj^ seem to have believed 

 the notion recorded by Pliny, that if the hall or dining chamlier be sprinkled 

 with the water wherein Vervain lay steeped, all that sate at the table should 

 be " very pleasant and make merry more jocundly." The Romans, who 

 considered it a sacred plant, placed it in the hands of ambassadors who were 

 about to enter on important embassies, and used it in sacrifice to their gods. 

 Pliny tells us that the festival table of Jupiter was swept and cleansed with 

 l)ranches of the Vervain, with great solemnity, and the floors of houses were 

 I'ubbed Avith it to drive away evil spirits. In our own countiy the plant was 

 called Holy-herb, and was connected with several superstitious usages. To 

 preserve its peculiar virtues certain forms had to be observed in gathering 



