168 LUTHER BURBANK 



It is quite unnecessary, however, to hybridize 

 the verbenas in order to secure variation, as all 

 of those that are under cultivation are themselves 

 hybrids, and the plant has been cultivated for a 

 comparatively short period and none of the 

 familiar forms breed true from the seed. 



The ancestors of the cultivated verbena were 

 semitropical American plants, and it is believed 

 that there are four chief species that have been 

 variously hybridized to produce all the forms 

 now under cultivation. One of these, V. chamce- 

 drifoUa, bears flowers of brilliant red, two others, 

 V. phlogi flora and V. incisa, have flowers that 

 are rosy or purple in color, and the fourth, V. 

 teucrioides, are pure white. 



The hybridized races show the breaking up of 

 these colors, quite as might be expected, with the 

 presentation of all the primary colors in many of 

 their hues and gradations, although pure blues 

 are not very well represented, and pure yellow is 

 very exceptional. 



But the point of greatest interest in the present 

 connection is the fact that the white species of 

 wild verbena, which is acknowledged to be one 

 of the forms whose strains have been blended 

 with the others to produce the cultivated 

 verbena, has what is described as a jessamine 

 fragrance. 



