VERBASCUM 



11. BoerhaAvii, Linn. Beautiful large-fld. Mediterra- 

 nean species with copious, snow-white deciduous wool 

 and clusters of sessile flowers. 



12. phoenicenm, Linn. (V. ferruglneum, And.). Pur- 

 ple MuLLKiN. Very distinct and desirable species, being 

 practically the only purple-tid. species in cultivation and 

 parent of nearly ail varieties and hybrids having shades 

 of purple, violet, rose, pink and lilac. The white-fld. 

 form is also common. It is a species of southeastern 

 Ell. and Asia. The name phaiiiceum was doubtless 

 siu'^j.st.-d by tin- Phoenicean purple and not by the na- 

 tivity ..f till- pliiir. The species grows about 5 ft. high, 

 anil is "lie d' iln- few green species, the Ivs. beingnearly 

 glalM-ous or Hilly pubescent. Lvs. ovate : fls. long- 

 staiked, solitary, about 1 in. across, which open poorly 

 in sunshine, preferring damp weather. The species 

 sliould, therefore, be placed where only the morning 

 and evening sun strike the flowers. L. B.C. 7:637. Gn. 

 22, p. 377; 27:481: 46, p. 519. A.G. 1892:630.-Var. 

 ciipreum, Benth. ( V. cupreum, Sims), is a garden hy- 

 brid raised from seeds of V. ovalifolium, showing in- 

 fluence of r. phcenicum in its copper-colored fls. It has 

 long been a favorite. B.M. 1226. 



13. nigrum, Linn. A common Euroinin - i..^ witli 



stem angled above, lvs. nearly glabrnu ~ ' . ■ r;i- 



ceme rarely branched and purple W""l I i!i 'in. 



27, p. 173; 41, p. 5.^1 (var. n?6»«i, sln.wii : : ml 



improvement made by cultivation). I . " v.. 



*t Rochel, is referred to this species li\ 1 . !- I , ■ ■ i-. 



U. sinuatum, Linn. Mediterranfun : tt. 



high, with sinuate-pinnatifld root-Ivs.. (1;\ ;i m nn , ].\iii- 

 midate panicles and lax, remote, many-fld. clusters. 



15. pyramiditum, Bieb. Tall and beautiful species, 

 with doubly crenate lvs. nearly glabrous above, pyrami- 

 date, oanescent panicle, violet-woolly filaments and a 

 very distinct calyx. Caucasus. 



111. rubigindsum, Waldst. & Kit. Stem glabrous or 



branclnil: pnlim^ls 2-3, rarely solitary, twice or many 

 tinns ,is Imii- :is calyx. — Var. ferruglneum, Benth. (V. 

 frrnniiii^ Hill . .Mill. I. has a long, simple raceme: fls. a 

 littlr laruir and Imiger than in V. phwHteeirm, and usu- 

 ally HI pairs. Either a natural or garden hybrid. 



17. Ol^mplcum, Boiss. Tall (iir.ian N|..ri,.s, 3-5 ft., 

 white-woolly: lvs. tomentosr mh i,.itli iri.s: panicles 

 with ii few very long, erect 1.i:mmIii-: .hi^i.-rs manv- 

 fld.: fls. 1 in. across, filaments « hn.-w.H.lly. The gar- 

 den merits of this species are discussed aiiove. Gng. 

 1:273. Gn. 30, p. 213; 31, p. 125; 38, pp. 55, 66; 41, 

 p. 555; 47, p. 147. 



18. Lychnitis, Linn. Toraentum slight and mealy: 

 lys. greenish above, crenate: panicles pyramidate, erect- 

 spreading: clusters lax, many-fld.: fls. yellow, rarely 

 white. 



19. CMixli, Vill. ( V. orientdle, Bieb.). Lvs. green or 

 tomontose beneath, crenate. lower ones cuneate at base. 



wnnlly. r. ririKili- of till' trailf linlongs under I', ni- 

 gyinii instead nt here, as euiiiinunly stated. Gn. 27, p. 

 •]72.-Vars. semi-lanatum and Freyniinum, Hort., are 

 hybrids. Often attains 10 feet, and acts like a true per- 

 ennial on warm soils. W. M. 



VERBfiNA (ancient Latin name of the common Eu- 

 ropean vervain, T. e/7,- .,,,.; . \ < i-in nil,-,,, . Verbenas 



rank very high aninii^ i- i .. iiN," Tlieir clusters 



ofshowyandofteiifiir -I 1 - 1 1. Iimne in constant 

 succession from Jinn n:! i'..-i liny vary from white 

 through lilac and rose ro purple and dark purplish blue, 

 with shades of pink and pale yellow. The clusters are 

 about 2 in. across and contain a dozen or more fls. each 

 %-K in. across. The fls. have a tube and 5 spreading 

 lobes, each lobe being notched at the apex. 



When special colors or named varieties are desired 

 it is necessary to propagate Verbenas by cuttings. To 

 propagate a particularly choice variety by cuttings, 

 shorten back the plants about September 1, keep them 

 well watered, and by the end of the month there will be 

 plenty of quick, tender growth suitable for cutting. 

 Put the cuttings in the propagating house or even in 

 flats with some soil in bottom and sand on surface. 



VERBENA 



1911 



Place the flats in a coldframe, and keep them moist 

 and shaded until the cuttings are rooted. When rooted, 

 trausfer to flats in a cool, light house until after New 

 Year's. Then pot them, using 2.W-inch pots, and allow 

 a temperature of 50"^ F., which will soon give plenty of 

 material for adilitional cuttings. Verbenas increased 

 from cuttings tend to flower early, and those propagated 

 in February or March will require at least one pinch- 

 ing. When planting-out in beds for summer bloom, 

 bend the plant over nearly to the horizontal, so that 

 the new growth will spread along the surface of the 

 soil. These shoots will quickly take root, thereby 

 covering the ground. The old method was to peg the 

 plants down. 



In propagating general stock, sow the seed in Febru- 

 ary and pot into 2-inch pots as soon as the seedlings are 

 up an inch. A temperature of 45-50° will answer, but 

 they should have full light. There is no place equal to 

 a mild hotbed for young Verbenas. About April 15 

 plunge the pots in a fev inches of soil in a mild hotbed. 

 Lift them now and then and rub off the roots which go 

 through the bottom of the pot, in order to check growth 

 and hasten flowering. Customers want to see them in 

 flower before buying, and most of them wait till the end 

 of May. However, Verbenas can be planted out early 

 in May, as a slight frost will not injure them. 



Verbena is a genus of about 110 species, one Mediter- 

 ranean, the others American and often weedy. Herbs 

 or subshrubs, decumbent or erect: lvs. opposite, rarely 

 in 3's or alternate: spikes terminal, densely imbricate 

 or long and distant-fld., sometimes corymbose or pani- 

 cled: corolla-tube straight or incurved; limb somewhat 

 2-lipped. Ii.lies .",. oMiing or broader, obtuse or refuse; 

 stamens I, .li.lvnaneins: ovary 4-loculed, 1-ovuled. DC. 

 Prod. 11 :.-,:;.", -.-..",i; i l.slTI. -wm. Scott and W. M. 



The r,.l[,iwin- ,ir,.,„Hit of Verl.pii:is i-s cxtrri'-tcil from a thesis 



by.J.H,<nUrll,«lH,„. Ulllllllrly .lealh , |,., , r | V, ., 1 A lllr ll,-;,,! hortl- 



Clllture el ;i tiL.^t nieiiiiini,' worker Mr t'oweii \\;ls a grad- 



Arts i'u June. 1 

 College of Agrii 



for 



Tiie work in Colorado 

 native state. He knew 

 1 was ever better fitted 



leiiltoit lu recast his thesis in cyclo- 



pedi'- lo I ,11:,' .-H-cnnnt h:is been changed as little 



aspesvii 1 ;<.:,| part at the end lis entirely recast, 



but tile I ' I i-ontaius Mr. Cowen's own words, 



with a n.. - n \ . 1 e.i I ehanges and some omissions. 



In Ijch; Loudon styled the Verbenas "a genus of 

 weedy plauts." The lapse of a few years was sufficient 

 to prove this remark to be inapplicable in many cases, 

 for on the plains and prairies of South America grew 

 a number of species of such surpassing beauty as to 

 set at naught all preconceived notions of the inherent 

 ugliness and "weediness" of the genus. 



Jntrodiiction of Parent Species, 1SS6-1SSS. -The first 

 of this noble race to be introduced was Verbena chamm- 

 dryfolia, a dazzling scarlet. This species has had a 

 profound influence upon the "selfs" of ('. hyhrida, par- 

 ticularly the scarlets, and is one of the predominant 

 parent species of the "compactas." 



The second important bouth American species to be 

 introduced was reilu iin pliloi/ifloxi , m WH The flow- 

 ers are inclined to rose 01 puiple rather than to scarlet, 

 and, accdidmg to t-irlv plates, are nioie regular; they 

 are ele\ it. d nn Imgrr peduncles and the cluster is 

 o%al 01 , hi n_- 11 St, id of flat or merely convex. This 

 III irli i/fnlid seem to be the principal 

 ^ iii.ns red, scarlet and rose-colored 



1 1 d m England for the first time 



IS characteiized by rosy or pur- 



th wers, borne in a flat or slightly 



I I lolla is strikingh lighter colored 



M Till h ni s III niui h nn re deeply 



■ two pun In . 1 IS Mil habit of 



species 



foims , 



rathe 



