504 VEKBENACE^E. 



ORD. LXIIL VERBENACE^E. VERVAIN TRIBE. 



Calyx tubular, not falling off ; corolla irregular, with 

 a long tube ; stamens 4 ; 2 longer than the others, rarely 

 2 only ; ovary 2- or 4-celled ; style 1 ; stigma 2-cleft ; 

 seeds 2 or 4, adhering to one another. A tribe of plants, 

 closely allied to the Ldbidtce, comprising trees, shrubs 

 and herbaceous plants, having opposite leaves, and 

 irregular flowers, which usually grow in spikes or 

 heads. Many are aromatic and fragrant, and some few 

 are employed as medicines, but are not highly valued. 

 Great virtues were, in ancient times, attributed to the 

 common Vervain, insomuch that it was accounted a holy 

 plant, and was used to sweep the tables and altars of the 

 gods. It is now little thought of. Aloysia citriodora, 

 formerly called Verbena triphylla, is the Lemon-plant of 

 gardens, well known for the delicious fragrance of its 

 rough, narrow leaves. Many varieties of Verbena are 

 also cultivated for the sake of their ornamental flowers, 

 which for brilliancy of colouring are scarcely surpassed. 

 But by far the most remarkable plant in this Order is 

 the Teak-tree (Tectoria grandis), which inhabits the 

 mountainous parts of eastern Asia. The trunk of this 

 tree sometimes attains the height of two hundred feet, 

 and its leaves are twenty inches long by sixteen broad. 

 The timber abounds in particles of flint, and somewhat 

 resembles mahogany in colour, but is lighter and 

 stronger. For ship-building it is thought to be superior 

 to Oak. 



1. VERBENA (Vervain). Calyx 5-cleft ; corolla un- 

 equally 5-cleft ; stamens shorter than the tube of the 

 corolla. (Name, the Latin name of the plant.) 



1. VERBENA (Vervain). 



1. T 7 . officindlis (Common Vervain). The only British 

 species. Waste ground, common. A slender plant, 1 



