rciiiaikahlc hy llic 1;rI IIkiI all llic llowti ,s in llu' dense, s|)ike-like racenie secnu-d U) IjIooih 

 neail\ simullaneouslv. iiol in asctMidiii^ siK-cessioii. In Hie flowoi-ing season llie v hole 

 laeenie heeonies. as a eousecinenee, e(|iially llnek lIuoui^lKinl ils len{)lh, accordinf>ly 

 nearly eyiindrical, nol Uipeiinj^ upwards, as is common in llie f^enus, and wheichy IIh; 

 lloNver cluslei- assumes an appearance mncli recalling; llie one lo l)C' found in the nearly 

 allied genus Wiilfcnid. which our plant also recalls in olher respects. The rather long and 

 coarse hairs covering Hie luacls. (he pedicels and llii' calyx, give the raceme a greyi li- 

 woolK a|)pearance. 



I'he stem is simple. (K)— 70 cm. high, strict and stout, round, or slightly (|uadrau- 

 gular. In llie lower pari it is sparingly, in ils upper part nioie densely iiuhcrulent and 

 glandulous. riiese glandular hairs ai-e rather long and pluricellulai'. hut the glands Ihem- 

 selves are very small, and it is only after a microscoi)ic examination 1 have heen anie 

 lo make Iheni out with certainly as real, glandular hairs. l'>y means of a couiinon magni- 

 fying glass only. Ihe heads llieniselves are nol easilv visihie. The leaves are oi)posite or 

 verticillate in 3's, completely sessile, and on hoth sides .sparingly hairy, and glandulou.s. 

 The leaves are generally 5—7, rarely to 9 cm. long, and 2—2,5. rarely 3,5 cm. broad, 

 oblong-ovate to lanceolate, with a rounded base, partly clasping the .stem, tapering and 

 acuminate at the apex, rather densely and sliarplv serrate, at times <lu])licate-serrate at 

 the margin. The raceme is terminal and solitary. 9—11 cm. long, and rather densely 

 flowered. The flowers are shortly pedicelled. the length of llie pedicels being about 1—1,5 

 mm. The bracts are very narrow, linear-subulate, the lower ones generally a little longer 

 than the calyx, the others generally equalling the calyx or only .slightly exceeding it. Ihc 

 calyx is split nearly to the base into 4 lobes, which are uniform, very narrow and linear, 

 tapering upwards, and acuminate, 5-6 mm. long, and, like the brads and Ihe pedicels, 

 rather densely villous, giving llu' \\ hole flower cluster a greyish-wDolly appearance. While 

 the stem itself is rather densely glandulous, the raceme seemed to be nearly destitute of 

 glandular hairs. The corolla is split above into 4 very narrow, linear lobes, generally a 

 little exceeding the calyx, all but linear, tapering uj)wards from the liase, acuminate at the 

 loj). and generally furnished with a distinct midnerve: Ihe hindmost lobe is somewhat 

 broader, 3-nerveti. and is, by deejier incisions, distinctly apart from the other !>. wliiih 

 are more united at the base. The tube is very short, only about 1 mm. long: the 

 throat rather densely pilose within. In the dried specimens the corollas are pallid and 

 discoloured, some of them, however, being of a pale blue, which is probably their 

 natural colour. The stamens, with the yellow anthers, are prolruding. about 8 mm. 

 long, ihc style, too. protrudes beyond Ihe corolla, hut is. as a rule, somewhat shorter 

 than the stamens. The capsule is 3—4 mm. high, distinctlv shorter than the calyx, com- 

 pressed, suborbicular or slightly oblong, obtuse, sonietimes nearly imperceptibly emar- 

 ginate at the summit, rather densely villous, especially so near the margin. In point of 

 external habitus this species somewhat resembles V. sihiricu L., but is very distinct by 

 the structure of the flowers, and by the leaves, which, in V. sibirica. are verticillate in 

 ()'s — 9's. Il also probablv belongs to quite another section of the genus. 



387 



