228 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLAXTS. 



Order XLYin. YEBBENA'CE^. (Vervain Family.) 



Heris (shrubs, and even trees within the tropics), having opposite leaves without stipules, 

 and a tubular corolla vrith the limb 4-5-lobed, more or less 2-lipped and didynamous 

 skiTnens. Ovary free, entire, 2-4-celled. Friiit dry (or sometimes drupaceous), and 

 splitting into 2-4 indehiscent 1-seeded nutJds. Seeds'with little or no albumen. 



An Order of but little importance to the farmer. — though containing a number of plants 

 interesting to the florist. The tree which furnishes the •• ever-during Teak'- of India 

 {Tectona graiidiSy L.) — so celebrated in ship-building — belongs to this Qi-der. 



1. YERBE'XA, L. Yertaix. 



[The Latin name for the leaves of any sacred herb ; etymologj- obscure.] 



Cdyx tubukr, 5-tootlied, — one of the teetli often shorter. Corolla tub- 

 ular, somewhat salver-form, with the limb rather unequally 5-lobed. 

 Stamens included, the upper pair usually without anthers. Ovary 2-4- 

 celled, with 1 ovule in each cell. Fruit separable into 2 -4 nutlets. 

 Flowers mostly in terminal spikes, bracteate. 



1. V. uiiiccBfo' lia, Jj. Leaves ovate and lance-ovate, acute, serrate, pe- 

 tiolate ; spikes filiform, terminal and axillary, somewhat paniculate ; 

 flowers distant. 



Nettle-leaved Yeebexa. Common Yervain. 



JZoci perennial. Stem erect, 2-3 or 4 feet high, obtusely quadrangular, hirsutely pu- 

 bescent, with slender axillary spreading branches above. ieai-e5 2 - 4 inches long, ab- 

 ruptly narrowed at base to a short petiole. Spikes 1 or 2-5 or 6 inches long, green, very 

 sleud'er. Flov:ers distinct and finaUy a little distant, small, sessile, with a'miuute bract 

 at base. Corolla white, — the throat closed by a delicate white villus. FruU separating 

 into 4 nucules, which arc oblong and triquetrous, witli ilv:' outer side convex. 



Pastures, road-sides, 5:c. : throughout the United -States. Fl. July-August. Fr. 

 September. 



Obs. This is not a very pernicious or troublesome weed ; but as it is 

 altogether worthless, and often so abundant in pasture fields as neces- 

 sarily to attract the notice of the observing farmer, I thought it might 

 be admitted into the present work. 



V. officinalis, another introduced species with pinnatified or 3-cleft 

 leaves and small purplish flowers is found in some localities. The spe- 

 cies of this genus are remarkable for their tendency to hybridize ; several 

 of our native species produce hybrids spontaneously. Yarious crosses 

 and varieties of Y. auble'tia, Y. cham^edeifo'lia. and other species, are 

 now among the most common and deservedly popular oruamen-^s of the 

 flower garden. The varieties are almost innumerable and are yearly in- 

 creased by the florists. 



Order XLIX. LABIATE. (Mint Family.) 



Chiefly lierts with quadrangular sleiyis, opposite or sometimes verticillate leai^ without 

 stipules, and ^i/je?-s in axillary opposite cymules or aggregated in terminal spikes, rarely 

 solitary. CaroZZa more or less bilabiate." Siamenu 4, didynamous, or sometimes 2; an- 

 ther-cdls parallel, or often div-aricate, — sometimes separated by £f long filiform connective. 

 Oiury deeply 4-iobed, becoming. \n fruit, 4 little seed-like nuilets, surrounding the base of 

 the style, in "the bottom of the persis+ent calyx ; each lobe, or nutlet, containing a single 

 seed with little or no album-en. Foliage containing receptacles of aromatic oil. 



