V ERB EN ACE AE (VERVAIN FAMILY) 343 



Means of control 



In meadows and pastures, spudding or hoe-cutting first-year 

 leaf tufts from their roots in autumn or early spring. Overlooked 

 plants that produce flowering stalks the next season should be cut 

 close to the ground before any seed matures. Cultivation of the 

 ground destroys the weed if no seeds are in the soil. 



EUROPEAN VERVAIN 

 Verbena officinalis, L. 



Other English names : Holy herb, Herb-of-the-Cross, Simpler's Joy, 



Enchanter's Plant. 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom : June to September. 

 Seed-time: July to November. 

 Range: New England and Middle Atlantic States, southward to 



Florida and Texas. Also on the Pacific Coast. 

 Habitat: Fields, roadsides, and waste places. 



An escape from gardens that has become a troublesome weed 

 in many places. Stem one to three feet tall, smooth, four-sided, 

 slender, branched and spreading. Leaves opposite, oblong lance- 

 shaped in outline but pinnatifid, the lower ones tapering to mar- 

 gined petioles ; upper ones becoming nearly or quite entire and 

 sessile. Flowers purple, very small, on slender, bracted, thread- 

 like spikes often four or five inches long ; corollas tubular, the five 

 lobes spreading salver-form ; stamens four, in two pairs of unequal 

 length, included ; calyx five-toothed, enclosing the fruit, which, as 

 in all the Vervains, splits into four very small, hard nutlets. 



Means of control 



Prevent seed production by close cutting or pulling while the 

 plant is in early bloom. 



WHITE VERVAIN 

 Verbena urticoefblia, L. 



Other English name : Nettle-leaved Vervain. 

 Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: June to September. 



