VERBASCUM 



11. Boerha4vii, Linn. Beautiful large-fld. Mediterra- 

 nean sperivs witli rojiious, suow-white deoidlious wo.rl 

 aud clusters of sessile flowers. 



12. phceniceum, Linn. ( )'. ferrugineum, Aud.). Puk- 

 PLE JliLLCiN. \'ery distinct and desirable speeies, heiit:; 

 practically tlie only i)urple-tld. species in cultivation and 

 ]iarent of nearly all varieties aud hybrids havini:; shades 

 of purple, violet, rose, pink and Ulae. The white-lid. 

 form is also common. It is a species of soutlieasliu'u 

 Eu. aud Asia. The name pha'iiiciitiii was donbiicss 

 SLiiTi^ested by the Phcx>uicean pmrple aiul not by tin- mi- 

 tivity of the plant. The species grows about ~> ft. high, 

 and is one of the few^ green species, the Ivs. being nearly 

 glabrous to- only ptibescent. Lvs. ovate : lis. Inng- 

 sralked. S(>!it;iry. ab.int 1 in. across, which open poorly 

 in siinsbinc. pT-id'erring damp weather. Tlu- specii's 

 should, therefore, be placed "where only the luitrniug 

 aud evening sun strike the tiowers. L.B.C. 7:b:;7. (in. 

 22. p. 377;" 27:481: W. p. 519. A.G. 1892 :(i:i(). - Var. 

 ctipreum, P>enth. ( I', ''/'(pninn , Sims), is a garden li\- 

 l»rid raised from seeds t>f I', ocal iU'Ii ii iit , showing in- 

 tlueiu'e of r. I'ltnuicnm in its copper-ctdored tis. It has 

 long been a favorite. B.il. 122U. 



13. nigrum, Ijinn. A coritmou European sj-iecies, with 

 steal angled al)Lt\"e. Ivs. nearly glabrotis ubow, hui.g ra- 

 ceme rarely branched ami pur[ile wocdly lihtments. fin. 

 27, p. 173: 41, p. ."):')1 (var. alhinn, sluiwin,g tiie WMUtderfnl 

 improvement ntatle liy cultivation). 1'. I'riniVr, Wier/,. 

 i: Roehel, is referred to this species by Index Kewensis, 



14. sinuatum, Linn. !\Iediterranean species 2-3 ft. 

 lli^h. with sinuate-pinnatiiid root-lvs., divaricate. ]i}'ra- 

 midate panicles and lax, remote, niany-tld. clusters. 



1.1. pyramidatum, Bieb. Tall and beautiful species, 

 with doulily crenati- lvs. nearly ij'labrous above. ]iyraui]- 

 date, canescent paniel,'. viuli-t-wiHilly lihinu-nts and a 

 very distinct cal}"x. Caucasus. 



111. rubig'indsimi, Waldst. & Kit, Stem glabrous or 

 pabeNi.'ent al"i\e: lvs. green, crenate: racemes lax. 

 branched: pedicels 2-3. riirely solitary, twice or many 

 times as long as calyx. — Var. ferrugineum, Benth. ( r. 

 fi'mc'/lnt'inii , ^U\\.) , has a long, simp)le raceme: lis. a 

 little larger and hinger than in I". j'Jir}')iir>'iin> , and tisti- 

 ally in pairs. Either a natural or garden hybrid. 



17. Olympicum, Boiss. Tall Grecian species, 3-;J ft., 

 wliite-woolly : Ivs. tomentose on both sides: panicles 

 with a fe^v very long, erect branches: clusters niany- 

 lld. : ds. 1 in. ai;ross, filaments white-woolly. The gar- 

 den merits of this species are discussed above. <hig. 

 1:273. Gn. 30. p. 213: 31. p. 12.5: 38, pp. 5.5, Wl; 41, 

 p. 555; 47, p. 147. 



15. Lychnitis, Linn. Tomentum sliglit aud nn-aly: 

 lvs. greeiii'h alH)\-(-. creniite : panirdc-s ]:i}-ramidate. erect- 

 spreading: clu>ter.s lax. inan}"-fld.: tis. yellow, rarely 

 white. 



19. Chaixii, Vill. ( I', orienfute, Bieb.). Lvs. green or 

 tomentose beneath, ci-enafe, lower ones cuneate at laise. 

 t-runcafeor incised: racemes panicle<i . filaments purple- 

 woolly, r. rmiiilr cjf the trade belongs under I', iii- 

 grinii insteail of here, as commonly stateil. (-in. 27, p. 

 172. — Vars. semi-lanatum aud Freynianum, Hiu-t., are 

 hybrids. Often :dtains 10 feet, and acts like a true per- 

 ennial on warm soils. ^y. ^p 



VEEBfiNA (ancient Latin name of the common Eu- 

 ropean vervain, v. nfficiniiliH). Verhenni:eir. Verbenas 

 rank very high among garden "annuals." Their idusters 

 of showy aud often fragrant tiowers are bornr in coiist:int 

 succession from -June till frost. They vai-y frmii white 

 through lilac and rose to purple and dark pur]dish blue, 

 with shades of pink and pale yellow. The clusti-rs are 

 about 2 in. across and contain a dozen or more lis. e;i.di 

 %-',a in. across. The Ms. have a tube aud o siireading 

 lobes, each lobe being notclod at the apex. 



When special colors or luuned varieties are desired 

 it is necessary to propagate Verbenas by cuttings. To 

 propagate a particularly choice variety by cuttings, 

 shorten back the plants about September 1, keep them 

 well watered, aud by the end of the month there will be 

 plenty of r|uick, tc'-nder growth suitable for cutting. 

 Put the cuttings in tin- jiror'agating house or even in 

 flats with some sf.il in bottom and sand on surface. 



VERBENA 



1911 



Place the flats in a cnldfraiio-, ;iud keep them moist 

 and shaded until the cnllings are rooted. When rooted, 

 transf.-r to rlats in ;i .■.jmI, light leoise until after New 

 Year's. Then iHit_ llieni, using 2 ' .. -imdi p(jts, and allow 

 a tempi-ratiire of ,.ll-' P., wliicdi will soon give plentv 'il 

 nnderial fm- ailditioioil <odt ini,'s. Verbenas ijici'eased 

 from cuttings teuil to flower early, ami those propagated 

 in Pobruary or lMai'(di will re((nire at least one pinch- 

 ing. When planting-out in beds fiu- summer bloom, 

 Ijend the plant over nearly to the horizoidal, so that 

 the lU'W growth will s|jrrad along the surface of the 

 soil. These sh.jols will .|ui(d<ly take r..ot, thereby 

 covering the ground. The old nndhod was to peg the 

 phuds down. 



In ]iro]jagating u'eneral stocdi, sow the seed in Febru- 

 ary and pot into 2-incli pots :is soon as the seedlings are 

 tip an irnjli. A tenqn-rature of 4.'i-5(l'-' will answer, but 

 they should have full light. There is no place e<|ual to 

 a mild hotbed for young \'erlMai;is. About April 15 

 plunge the pots in a few iurle-s cjf scdl in amild hotbed. 

 Lift them now and then ami rub <ift' the roots which go 

 through the bottom of the ])ot, in ordor to check growth 

 and hasten flowering. Customers want t<j see tljeni in 

 flower before buying, aud most of them wait till the end 

 of Jlay. However, \'erbeiia,s can bo planted out eail> 

 in l\Iay. as a sliglit frost will nol injure them. 



\^u'bena is a genus of about 110 sjiccics, one Mc-diter- 

 ranean, the others Anuuic;in aud often weedy. Plerbs 

 or subshrubs, decumbent or eri'ct: h's. i>pposite, rarely 

 in 3's or alternate: spikes termimd, densely imbricate 

 or hmg and distant-fld.. sometimes corymbose or pani- 

 cled: cor'illa-tnbe str;nght or incurved; limb somewhat 

 2-lii"ii>ed, lobes 5. oblong or bro;iiler. obtuse or refuse; 

 st.-iuuMis 4. did^manmns: o\-;n-y 4-loculed, 1-ovuled. DC 

 Prod. 11:535-550 (1847i. t,V5j. Scott and W. M. 



The following account of VerbeiKis is extracted from a thesis 

 by .1, ti, Cowen, whose untimely dejttli deprived American horti- 

 culture of a most prounsin^' wori^cr. Mr. Cowen was a grad- 

 uate of tlie Colorado Aeric\ibur:d ('ollee,. ;uid had been an as- 

 sistant in thehiu'ticultur;d tlepio-tniiuit there. After two .vears' 

 work at C'oruell University he received the degree of Master of 

 Arts in -June, lOllO, aud was electeil to the fellowship in the 

 foUcKe of Agricultinv. A few days later he was notilied of Ids 

 election to the idadr et horl icull nre in tlie state of Washington 

 and also at Colorado, ib- acceiiled the ]Jositiou at his ;dma 

 under. Tlie day hel'ore his intended departure lie was stricken 

 by appendicitis. Ho died ,hd.\- VI. 1!J1)0. The work in Colorado 

 ^vas very much to liis heiirt. It was his native state. He knew 

 the people and the conditions. No uiau was ever better fitted 

 bu- the work he expected tonadcn.ike. 



It was Mr. Cowen's intenliou to reciist his thesis in cycln- 

 rietlic form. The following account li;is been changed as little 

 as possible. The botanical part at the end lis entirely recast, 

 Ind the readable jKu-tion cont.ains IMi-, Cowen's own words, 

 with a few slight verbal changes and some omissions. 



In bS30 Loudon styled the Verbenas "a genus of 

 weeily plants." The lapse cd' a few years was sufiicient 

 to prove this remark to be inapplicable in many cases, 

 for on the plains an<l prairies of South America grew 

 a number of species of smdt surpassing beauty as to 

 set at naught all pree(uicadved notions of the inherent 

 ugliness and "weediness" <d' the genus. 



'lll/rnihirfio)! of Pairiif .S'/n-c'c.s, ISJC-ISJS. -The first 

 of this noble race to be introiluced was I'c/'/e i/o cliamrt'- 

 (Ir/ifoliii. a dazzling seailet. This speides has had a 

 priifound influence upcm the "scdfs" <d P. lii/brkla, par- 

 ticularly the scarlets, and is one of the predominant 

 parent species of the "conijiacbis." 



The second imiiorfant South Ann-rican species to be 

 introduced was ['c/V,ceo ;<// /e,/;;'/,;/o, in 1834. The flow- 

 ers are inclined to rose or ]Mirple rather than to scarlet, 

 and, according to early |d;des, are more re.gular; they 

 ai'e elevated on longvr peduncles ;nid the cluster is 

 oval or oblong instead of lint or noua-ly (n.nvex. This 

 species and P. rliniini ,1 riifnl i,i seem to be the principal 

 parents of the various i-ed. scarbd aud rose-colored 

 forms iu cultivation. 



\',:rh<-,ia iiirixd flowered in Enghind for the first time 

 in bs30. This specdes is ch;ir:ederized by rosy or luir- 

 ]ilish. rather regular flowers, b.u-ne in a flat or slightly 

 convex cluster. "The corolbi is strikingly lighter colored 

 ladow than above. The leaves ar.' much more deeply 

 (Uit than in the two preceding siaades. The habit of 

 growdh resembles tb;d .d' P. /di/ei/i'/Vero . but is rather 

 tall and weak, tliree feet high in cultivatiou. This spe- 



