( 26 .) 
VERB E'N A. * *. 
Linnean Class and Order. DiDYNA'MiAf, Gymnospe'rmia +. 
Natural Order. Verbena'ce;e, Juss. — Lind. Syn. p. 195; 
Jntrod. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 238. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 438. — 
Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 529. — Viticfs, sect. 2. Juss. Gen. Pl.pp. 106 
& 108. — Sm. Gram, of Bot. p. 98. 
Gen. Chau. Calyx (fig. 1.) of 1 leaf, tubular, angular, with 
5 teeth, one of which is shorter than the rest. Corolla (fig. 2.) of 
1 petal, unequal ; tube cylindrical, twice as long as the calyx, straight 
in the lower half, dilated and curved in the upper. Limb spread- 
ing, in 5 deep, rounded, nearly equal segments. Filaments 4, in 
some species only 2, slender, very short, incurved, within the tube 
of the corolla, 2 of them shorter. Anthers incumbent, of 2 round- 
ed lobes. Germen (fig. 4.) superior, 4-cornered. Style slender, as 
long as the tube. Stigma blunt. Seeds 2 or 4, oblong, angular, 
roughish, inclosed in one thin, membranous, evanescent pellicle. 
Distinguished from other genera in the same class and order, by 
the shorter upper tooth of the calyx, the curved, and nearly equal 
corolla, and the stamens inclosed in the tube. 
One species British. 
VERBE'NA OFFICINA'LIS. Vervain. Simpler’s Joy. 
Spec. Char. Stamens 4. Spikes slender, panicled. Leaves 
deeply cut. Stem mostly solitary. 
Eng. Rot. t. 767. — Curt. FI. I.ond. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 29. — Iluds. FI. Angl. 
(2nd ed.) p. 249.— Sm. FI. Biit v.ii. p.608. F.ng. FI. v.iii. p.71. — With. (7th 
ed.) v. iii. p. 696. — Gray's Nat. Air. v. ii. p. 390. — Lind. Syn. p. 196. — Hook. 
Br. FI . p. 290. — Light f. FI. Scot. v. i. p. 78. — Sibth . F’l. Oxon. p . 181 . — Abbot’s 
FI. Bedf. p. 127.— Hurt. Mid. FI. v. i. p. 56. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed.) p. 233. — 
Hook. FI. Scot. p. 190.— Grev. F’l. Edin. p . 1 38. — FI. Devon, pp. 106 & 143. — 
Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 162. — Perry’s PI. Varvic. Selector, p. 48. — Bab. FI. Bath, 
p. 40. — Verbena Vulgaris, Ray’s Syn. p. 236. — V. Communis, Johnson’s 
Gerarde, 718. 
Localitiis. — B y roadsides, on stonewalls, and in dry waste ground, or 
pastures, about villages. — Common in some parts of England. — About Oxford, 
and Rugby, but rather uncommon: W. B.— Not common in Ireland, and very 
rare in Scotland. — Plentiful near Cork: Mr. Drummond. — Very abundant by 
waysides near Killarney, and sparingly at Killmacannick, county of Wicklow : 
Mr. J.T. Mackay, in Catalogue of the Plants found in Ireland. — At lnver- 
keithing, Scotland: Dr. Parsons, in FI. Scot. 
Perennial. — Flowers from July to October. 
Root woody, somewhat creeping. Stem curved at the base, then 
upright, from 1 to 2 feet, or more, high, square, leafy, rough with 
small prickles or bristles. Leaves roughish, variously jagged, or 
pinnatifid, the upper ones 3-cleft, or simple, tapering at the base 
Fig. 1. Calyx. — Fig. 2. Corolla. — Fig. 3. Corolla cut open to show the situa- 
tion of the Stamens. — Fig. 4. Germen, Style, and Stigma. — All magnified. 
* Ftom the Celtic name Ferfaen, and probably referring to its use in the rite* 
of heathen worship, and the idolatrous sacrifices of the Pagans. Withering. 
Linn.eus placed this genus in the class Diandria, because some of its species 
have only 2 stamens ; but as the species found in Britain has always 4, it is, by 
most English Botanical authors, placed in the class Didynamia, where the Eng- 
lish Botanist would expect to find it. 
t See Lamitim album, fol. 31, note f. 
t Idem, not* }. 
