VERVAIN FAMILY 
( Verbenacece) 
Herbs with opposite leaves and perfect but usually 
irregular flowers, the tubular corollas spreading into 
two lips or four or five lobes. 
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) is our most com¬ 
mon example of the genus. It is a tall, slender, rank¬ 
growing plant reaching heights of 2 to 7 feet. The 
leaves are dark green, short-stemmed, lanceolate, sharply 
toothed and grow oppositely on the stem. 
At the top of the stem are numerous, slender flower 
spikes, each branching from the stem and assuming a 
vertical position, in a regular order suggestive of can¬ 
delabra. These slender spikes contain many buds, the 
lower of which open first. From July until the end of 
August we will find rings of purple flowers about the 
spikes, gradually drawing nearer the ends as the flow¬ 
ering season advances, and leaving behind a long trail 
of purplish calyces. The tubular corolla has five spread¬ 
ing lobes, a slender pistil and two pairs of stamens. 
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