254 CLASS XIV. ORDER I. 



Pycnanthemum ARiSTATUM. MicJi. Wild Basil. 



Whitish ; leaves lance-oval, somewhat serrate, on 

 short petioles ; whorls and terminal head sessile ; 

 bractes linear, awned. Mich. abr. 

 Syn. Nepeta Virginica. L. 



Stem erect, a foot or more in height, downy. Leaves oppo- 

 site, ovate, acuminate, slightly serrate, clotted under a magni6er, 

 the upper ones hoary with white down. Each branch has one 

 or two downy, sessile whorls, and a terminal head. Bractes acu- 

 minated with a sort of awn. Flowers small. Both these species 

 have a strong, pungent taste, much like pennyroyal. — Chelsea, 

 road side.— July, August. — Perennial. 



265. VERBENA. 

 Verbena hastata. L Common blue Vervain. 



Leaves lanceolate, serrate, acuminate, the lower 

 ones lobed ; spikes erect, filiform, panicled ; stamens 

 four. 



A tall, shewy plant, common by road sides in low ground. 

 Stem three or four feet high. Leaves opposite, rough, sharply 

 serrate, tapering to a long point ; the lower ones broader, with 

 commonly a lobe on each side at base, giving them somewhat a 

 hastate form. Spikes numerous, erect, slender. The flowering 

 commences at their base, and is long in reaching their summit. 

 Flowers close, of a dark purplish hue, with four stamens. — July, 

 September. — Perennial. 



Verbena urticifolia. L. Nettle leaved Vervain. 



Leaves oval, serrate, acute, petioled ; spikes diverg- 

 ent, filiform, panicled ; stamens four. 



Common among rubbish, about fences and buildings. Stem 

 erect, two or three feet in height. Leaves broad, oval or ovate, 

 rough, undivided. Panicles of long, very slender, flexile spikes, 

 diverging or divaricated, with distinct, somewhat remote flowers, 

 not inil)ricate like the last. Flowers small, white. A weed of 

 no beauty. — July, August. — Perennial 



