VERBENA.] VEEBENACE^. 313 



ORDER LVIII. VERBENA'CEJE. 



Herbs, shrubs, or trees. Leaves opposite or whorled, exstipulate. 

 Flowers cymose, irregular, bracteate. Calyx inferior, tubular, cleft or 

 toothed, persistent, imbricate in bud. Corolla hypogynous, tubular, 

 usually 2-lipped, imbricate in bud. Stamens usually 4, didynamous, 

 inserted on the corolla-tube ; anthers 2-celled. Ovary 2-4-celled ; style 

 simple, terminal, stigma simple or 2-fid ; ovules solitary or 2 collateral in 

 each cell, erect and anatropous or ascending and |-anatropous. Fruit a 

 2- or 4-celled berry, or a drupe with 2-4 1-2-celled stones, or of 4 nutlets. 

 Seeds ascending, exalbuminous ; cotyledons foliaceous, radicle inferior. 

 DISTRIB. Chiefly tropical ; genera 59 ; species 700. AFFINITIES. With 

 Boraginece and Labiatce. PROPERTIES unimportant. 



1. VERBE'NA, L. VERVAIN. 



Herbs or undershrubs. Stem 4-gonous. Leaves opposite or 3-nate, 

 simple pinnatifid or 3-partite. Flowers bracteate, in terminal spikes or 

 racemes. Calyx tubular, 5-ribbed, unequally 5-toothed. Corolla salver- 

 shaped ; tube straight or curved, villous within ; limb oblique, 2-lipped, 

 5-fid. Stamens 4, 2 or all perfect, included. Disk annular. Ovary 4- 

 celled ; style slender, 2-lobed, one lobe stigmatic ; ovules solitary in each 

 cell, erect. Fruit of 4 ribbed nutlets. DISTRIB. Almost wholly American ; 

 species 80. ETYM. Classical, obscure, 



V. officina'lis, L. ; leaves opposite, flowers spiked. 



Dry waste ground, local, from Northumbd. southd.; Ireland, local ; Channel 

 Islands; fl. July-Sept. Perennial, hispidly pubescent. Rootstock woody. 

 Stems 1-2 ft., rigid, branched above. Leaves oblong, pinnatifid or 3-partite, 

 lobes acute or obtuse, upper narrower. Spikes dense-fld., afterwards 

 elongating ; bracts ovate, acute, ^ as long as the calyx, which is ^ as long as 

 the corolla-tube. Corolla lilac, limb in. diam. Nutlets truncate, granu- 

 late. DISTRIB. From Denmark southd., N. Africa, W. Asia, Himalaya; 

 introd. in N. America. An object of much superstition amongst the 

 ancients. 



ORDER LIX. LABIA'T-ffi. 



Glandular herbs or shrubs ; branches 4-angled, opposite or whorled. 

 Leaves opposite or w r horled, entire or divided, exstipulate. Flowers 

 solitary or in axillary opposite centrifugal often crowded (falsely whorled) 

 cymes, irregular, 2-bracteate and bracteolate, proterandrous. Calyx in- 

 ferior, persistent, 5-cleft, ribbed. Corolla hypogynous, deciduous, 5-merous, 

 2-lipped, imbricate in bud, upper lip outermost. Stamens inserted on the 

 corolla-tube, perfect usually 4, 5th and sometimes 2 lateral imperfect or 

 0, anthers polymorphous. Disk annular. Ovary of 2 connate deeply 

 2-lobed carpels, hence 4-partite, 4-celled ; style from between the lobes, 



