GENUS I, VERVAIN FAMILY. 95 
I. Verbena officinalis L. European Ver- 
vain. Herb-of-the-Cross. Berbine. 
Fig. 3552. 
Verbena officinalis L. Sp. Pl. 20. 1753. 
Annual ; stem 4-sided, slender, glabrous or nearly 
So, ascending or spreading, diffusely branched, 
1°-3° high, Leaves minutely pubescent, the lower 
deeply incised or I-2 pinnatifid, ovate, oblong, or 
obovate in outline, 1’-3’ long, narrowed into mar- 
gined petioles, the teeth acute; upper leaves 
linear or lanceolate, acute, entire, sessile; spikes 
several or numerous, filiform, at length 4’-5’ long; 
fruits less than 1” high, scattered along the spikes, 
not at all imbricated; bracts ovate, acuminate, 
shorter than the 5-toothed calyx; corolla pur- 
plish or white, the limb 1’-2” broad. 
In waste and cultivated ground, Maine to Florida, 
Tennessee and Texas. Also on the Pacific Coast 
and in the West Indies. Naturalized from the Old 
World. Sometimes a troublesome weed. Herb-grace. 
Holy-herb. Enchanter’s-plant. Juno’s-tears. Pigeon’s- 
grass. Simpler’s-joy. June—-Sept. 
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Verbena urticifolia L. Sp. Pl. 20. 1753. 
V. urticifolia riparia Britton, Mem. Torr. Club 5: 276. 
1894. 
V, A la Raf.; Small & Heller, Mem. Torr. Club 3: 12. 
1892. 
Perennial, usually pubescent; stem slender, strict, 
erect, 4-sided, paniculately branched above, 3°-5° 
high, the branches upright. Leaves ovate, oblong, 
or oblong-lanceolate, all petioled, or the uppermost 
sessile, serrate-dentate all around, or incised, some- 
times 3-cleft near the base, thin, acute or acuminate, 
mostly rounded at the base, 12-5’ long; spikes nu- 
merous, filiform, erect, or spreading, at length 4’-6’ 
long; fruits oblong, scattered, not at all imbricated, 
about 1” high; bracts ovate, acuminate, shorter than 
the calyx; corolla white, blue or pale purple, its limb 
about 1” broad. 
In fields and waste places, New Brunswick to South 
Dakota, Kansas, Florida and Texas. MHybridizes with 
V. bracteosa, V. hastata and V. stricta. June—Sept. 
Verbena carolinénsis (Walt.) Gmel., with sessile, 
spatulate to oblong leaves and larger bluish flowers, 
native of the Southeastern States, is recorded as occur- 
ring north to Virginia. 
3. Verbena hastata L. Blue or False Ver- 
vain. Wild Hyssop. Fig. 3554. 
Verbena hastata L. Sp. Pl. 20. 1753. 
Verbena pinnatifida Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 57. 1791. 
Verbena paniculata Lam. Encycl. 8: 548. 1808. 
Verbena hastata pinnatifida Britton, Mem. Torr. Club 
5: 276. 18094. 
Perennial, roughish-puberulent; stem erect, strict, 
4-sided, usually branched above, 3°-7° high. Leaves 
oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, petioled, acute or 
acuminate at the apex, narrowed at the base, ser- 
rate or incised-dentate with acute teeth, sometimes 
pinnatifid, 3-6’ long, the lower sometimes hastately 
3-lobed at the base; spikes numerous, panicled, slen- 
der, usually peduncled, 2’-6’ long; fruits densely 
imbricated on the spikes, 1-13” high; bracts ovate, 
acuminate, shorter than the calyx; corolla blue, 
white, or sometimes pink, its limb about 14” broad. 
In moist fields, meadows and in waste places, Nova 
Scotia to British Columbia, Florida, Nebraska and Ari- 
zona. Hybridizes with V. stricta and V. bracteosa. 
American vervain. Purvain. Iron-weed. June—Sept. 
