622 
VERBENACEAE 
VI. SYMPHOREMOTDEAE (ovary 2-loc. to centre; fruit 
dry, i- seeded) : Symphorema. 
VII. AV1CENNIOIDEAE (ovary imperfectly 4-loc. ; fruit 
capsular, 2-valved, 1 -seeded; mangroves): Avicennia 
(only genus). 
[Placed in Lamiales by Benth. -Hooker, in Nuculiferae by 
Warming.] 
Verbesina Linn. Compositae (v). 100 sp. Am. 
Vernonia Schreb. Compositae (1). 600 sp. Am., Afr., As. The style 
should be carefully examined, as it is one of the typical styles of the 
order (see classification of C.). 
Veronica (Tourn.) Linn. (excl. Pciederotci L.). Scrophulariaceae (in. 
10). 250 sp. extra-trop., many alpine. About 75 in Eur., 17 in 
Brit, (speedwell). The Brit. sp. are herbaceous (often woody below) ; 
the firs, are in terminal or lateral racemes. The posterior sepal of 
the 5 typical of this order is absent, and the two posterior petals are 
united into one large one, so that the perianth is 4-merous (see order 
for floral diagram). The 2 sta. and style project horizontally from the 
rotate corolla. A small percentage of firs, exhibit a different number 
of parts ( e.g . 5 petals); see Bateson in Linn . Soc. Journ. xxvili, 
1891, p. 386. The fertilisation of the fir. in V. Chamaedrys L., the 
commonest Brit, sp., is performed chiefly by drone-flies. The style 
projects over the lower petal, while the two sta. project laterally. 
Honey is secreted at the base of the ovary and concealed by the hairs at 
the mouth of the short corolla-tube. Insects in alighting on the lower 
petal touch the style and then grasp the bases of the sta., thus causing 
the anthers to move inwards and dust the visitors’ lower surface 
with pollen. Other sp. show similar mechanisms, but with more 
and more tendency to, and arrangements for, self-fertilisation, as 
the fir. is less conspicuous (Muller, Fert. of Firs.). The peduncles 
stand close up against the main stem of the raceme whilst the firs, 
are in bud, diverge as the firs, open, and again close up as they 
wither (p. 104). The fruit is a capsule with a few flattened seeds 
suited to wind-distribution. In V. arvensis L. and other sp. that 
live in damp places, the capsule merely cracks as it dries and only 
opens so far as to allow the seeds to escape when thoroughly wetted ; 
the seeds then become slimy (cf. Linum) and can only be distributed 
to a distance by water (see Macleod in Bot. Jaarb. I. p. 91). 
Many exotic sp. of V. are shrubby, with handsome spikes 
of firs, and are often cultivated. In N. Z. the genus is one of the 
characteristic alpine plants; 64 sp. occur, of which 59 are endemic 
(p. 149). Some of these are small trees; most are shrubby (often 
dwarf). Many of these sp., e.g. V. cupressoides Hook, f., are xero- 
phytes with reduced leaves closely appressed to the stem, so that the 
twigs closely resemble those of Cupressus and other Coniferae ; in fact 
they have been described as Coniferae in systematic works. 
