BORAGINACEAE. 



VOL. III. 



i. Echium vulgare L. Viper's Bugloss. Blue- 

 weed. Fig. 3551. 



Echium vulgare L. Sp. PI. 140. 1753. 



Bristly-hairy, biennial; stem erect, at length much 

 branched, i-2i high. Leaves oblong, linear-oblong, 

 or linear-lanceolate, obtuse or acute, entire, 2'-6' long, 

 sessile, or the lower and basal ones narrowed into 

 petioles; flower-buds pink; flowers bright blue, vary- 

 ing to violet purple, 8"-i2" long, numerous in short 

 i-sided spikes, forming a narrow thyrsus ; calyx-seg- 

 ments much shorter than the corolla; limb of the 

 corolla oblique, the lobes very unequal. 



In fields and waste places, Nova Scotia to North Caro- 

 lina, Ontario and Nebraska. A troublesome weed in some 

 sections of the North. Naturalized from Europe. Native 

 also in Asia. June-July. Viper's-herb. Viper's-grass. 

 Snake-flower. Blue thistle. Blue stem or cat's-tails. Blue 

 devils. Adder's-wort. 



Family 25. VERBENACEAE J. St. Hil. Expos. Fam. i : 245. 1805. 



VERVAIN FAMILY. 



Herbs, shrubs or some tropical genera trees, with opposite verticillate or rarely 

 alternate leaves, and perfect, more or less irregular, or sometimes regular flowers, 

 in terminal or axillary spikes, racemes, cymes or panicles. Calyx inferior, mostly 

 persistent, usually 4-5-lobed or 4-5-cleft. Corolla gamopetalous, regular, or 

 2-lipped, the tube usually cylindric and the limb 4-5-cleft. Stamens 4, didy- 

 namous, rarely only 2, or as many as the corolla-lobes, inserted on the corolla and 

 alternate with its lobes ; anthers 2-celled, the sacs longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary 

 superior, 2 4-celled (rarely 8-io-celled), composed of 2 carpels, each carpel with 

 2 anatropous or amphitropous ovules, thus in 4-celled ovaries i ovule in each 

 cavity; style terminal, simple; stigmas i or 2. Fruit dry, separating at maturity 

 into 2-4 nutlets, or a drupe containing the 2-4 nutlets. Endosperm little or none, 

 or rarely fleshy ; embryo straight. 



About 75 genera and 1300 species, of wide geographic distribution in temperate and warm 

 regions. 

 Flowers in heads or spikes ; ovary 2-4-celled ; fruit of 2 or 4 erect nutlets ; ours herbs. 



Corolla-limb 5-lobed, regular or nearly so ; nutlets 4. i. Verbena. 



Corolla-limb 4-lobed, 2-lipped ; nutlets 2. 2. Lippia. 



Flowers in axillary cymes ; shrubs ; fruit drupaceous. 3. Callicarpa. 



i. VERBENA [Tourn.] L. Sp. PL 18. 1753. 



Herbs (some exotic species shrubby), mostly with opposite leaves, and variously colored 

 bracted flowers, in terminal solitary corymbed or panicled spikes. Calyx usually tubular, 

 5-angled, more or less unequally 5-toothed. Corolla salverform or funnelform, the tube 

 straight or somewhat curved, the limb spreading, 5-lobed, slightly 2-lipped or regular. 

 Stamens 4, didynamous, or very rarely only 2, included ; connective of the anthers unap- 

 pendaged, or sometimes provided with a gland. Ovary 4-celled ; ovule I in each cavity ; style 

 usually short, 2-lobed at the summit, one of the lobes stigmatic. Fruit dry, mostly enclosed 

 by the calyx, at length separating into 4, i-seeded linear or linear-oblong crustaceous smooth 

 papillose or rugose nutlets. [Latin name of a sacred herb.] 



About 100 species, natives of America, or a single one indigenous in the Mediterranean region. 

 Besides the following, some 15 others occur in the southern and western parts of North America. 

 Type species : Verbena officinalis L. 



Flowers 2"-$" long, in narrow spikes ; anthers unappendaged. 

 Spikes filiform or slender ; bracts snorter than the flowers. 

 Spikes filiform ; fruit scattered ; corolla usually white. 



Leaves incised or pinnatifid ; diffuse annual ; fruit short. 

 Leaves serrate (rarely incised) ; erect perennial ; fruit oblong. 

 Spikes slender ; fruit densely imbricated ; corolla blue. 



Plants glabrous or sparingly rough-pubescent ; corolla 2"- 3" long. 

 Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, petioled. 



Leaves linear or spatulate-lanceolate, mostly obtuse and sessil 

 Plants densely soft-pubescent ; corolla 4"- 5" long. 

 Spikes thick, dense; bracts longer than the flowers. 

 Flowers 7"- 12" long, in short dense elongating spikes ; connective of the longer stamens appendaged. 

 Corolla-limb 6"-i 2" broad ; bracts mostly shorter than the calyx. 7. V. canadensis. 



Corolla-limb 4 "-7" broad ; bracts equalling or exceeding the calyx. 8. V. bipinnatifida. 



1. V. officinalis. 



2. V. urticifolia. 



3. V. hastata. 



4. V. angustifolia. 



5. V. strict a. 



6. V . bracteosa. 



