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Verbenaceae (Genus comprising about eighty)
A genus comprising about eighty species of greenhouse or hardy, annual or perennial herbs or sub-shrubs, almost wholly American. Flowers small or mediocre, solitary in the axils of the often narrow bracts; calyx tubular, five-ribbed, five-toothed; corolla tube straight or incurved, equal or slightly enlarged above; limb spreading, sub-bilabiate, the five lobes oblong or broad, obtuse or retuse; stamens four, didynamous, very rarely two, affixed above the middle of the tube, included; spikes terminal, rarely axillary. Leaves opposite, or rarely ternately whorled or alternate, toothed or often incised or dissected, rarely entire. V. officinalis, the British representative of the genus, was formerly held in great repute as a remedy for affections of the bladder, and its flowers were considered an instrument for restoring defective vision. Verbenas may readily be propagated by seeds, sown in heat, some time in early spring; or by cuttings of the young growths which have no flowers on them. The hardy species may also be increased by division of the rootstock. All require a rich soil, and may be planted in open borders during summer from the middle or end of May.
The best-known species are here described. Except where otherwise indicated, they are perennials, and flower in summer.
V. alata (winged). fl. rosy; spikes short, dense, sub-cylindric; panicle terminal, cymose, sub-fastigiate. l. sessile, 1/2in. to 1in. long, ovate or triangular-oblong, acute, entire or argutely serrated, three-nerved, wrinkled, strigose-scabrous. Stems sub-fastigiate. h. 4ft. Brazil, 1828. Half-hardy. (S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 41.) V. amoena (pleasing). fl. pinkish-purple; corolla lobes bifid; spikes long, dense, erect. l. stipulate, pinnatifid; lobes oblong, acute, clothed with closely-pressed pubescence; stipules much more hairy than the blade. Stems partially recumbent, covered with stiff, whitish haris. h. 1ft. Mexico. Half-hardy. (P. M. B. vii. 3.) V. Aubletia (Aublet's). Rose Vervain. fl. reddish-purple or lilac, rarely white; corolla limb 1/2in. to 2/3in. broad; spikes pedunculate, elongated in fruit. l. 1in. to 2in. long, ovate or ovate-oblong, incisely lobed and toothed, often more deeply three-cleft, the truncate or broadly cuneate base tapering into a margined petiole. h. 1ft. or less. North America, 1774. Hardy. (B. M. 308; B. R. 294, var. 1925). V. Lambertii (B. M. 2200) is a form of this with narrower and more incised leaves. V. L. rosea (S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 363) has a light-coloured, fragrant corolla, 3/4in. wide. V. bracteosa (conspicuous-bracted). fl. purplish or blue, very small, exceeded by some of the leafy bracts; spikes thick, terminal. l. cuneate-oblong or cuneate-obovate, mostly narrowed into a short-margined petiole, pinnately incised or three-cleft, and coarsely-toothed. North America, 1820. Plant diffuse or decumbent, hirsute, annual or becoming perennial at base. Hardy. (B. M. 2910.) V. chamaedrifolia (Chamaedrys-leaved). fl. of a splendid scarlet colour, large and showy; spike solitary, on an elongated, ascending peduncle. l. oblong or ovate, broadly cuneate at base, crenate or somewhat incised-serrated, strigose above, hairy beneath, on short petioles. Stems filiform, fork-branched, creeping. Brazil, 1827. Half-hardy under-shrub. (B. 129; B. M. 3333; S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 9.) SYN. V. melissoides.
V. c. Melindres (vernacular name). l. oblong or oblong-lanceolate, unequally incised-serrated and less hairy. (P. M. B. i. 173; B. R. 1184 and L. B. C. 1514, under name of V. Melindres.) V. elegans (elegant). fl. blue; corolla limb large, with emarginate lobes; spikes terminal, pedunculate, pyramidal, l. shortly petiolate, pinnatifid-laciniate, cuneate at base, slightly strigose-hispid; segments entire, linear-oblong, the margins slightly revolute. Stems branched, procumbent. Mexico, 1826. Hardy annual.
V. erinoides (Erinus-like). fl. reddish-violet; corolla shortly exserted; spikes terminal, pedunculate, solitary, elongated, fastigiate, canescent-hairy. l. cuneate at base, decurrent, tripartite-pinnatifid or laciniate; laciniae lanceolate, slightly acute, entire or somewhat toothed, the margins slightly revolute. Stems hairy, much-branched, decumbent, rooting; branches ascending. Peru, 1818. Hardy annual. SYN. V. multifida. V. e. contracta (contracted). l. tripartite; laciniae incisedpinnatifid; ultimate segments linear-oblong, acute. (B. R. 1766, under name of V. multifida contracta; S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 347, under name of, V. e. Sabini.) V. hastata (spear-shaped). Blue Vervain; Simpler's Joy; Wild Hyssop. fl. blue; spikes dense, strict, naked at base, or more or less pedunculate, numerous in a panicle. l. oblong-lanceolate, gradually acuminate, coarsely or incisely serrated, petiolate; some of the lower ones often hastately three-lobed at base. Stem erect, 3ft. to 6ft. high. North America, 1810. Hardy. V. paniculata (B. R. 1102) is a form wanting the three-lobed leaves. V. incisa (cut). fl. rosy-purple; calyx five lines long; spikes pedunculate, sub-ternate at the tips of the branches, corymbose-paniculate. l., lower ones oblong-triangular, cuneate, truncate or sub-cordate at base, attenuated into the petioles, pinnatifid-lobed, deeply incised-serrated, wrinkled; upper ones nearly lanceolate, sessile, incised-pinnatifid. Stem ascending; branches erect. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1826. Greenhouse sub-shrub. B. M. 3628.) V. Lambertii (Lambert's). A form of V. Aubletia.
V. Melindres (vernacular name). A variety of V. chamaedrifolia. V. melissoides (Melissa-like). A synonym of V. chamaedrifolia. V. multifida (much-cleft). A synonym of V. erinoides. V. mutabilis (changeable). A synonym of Stachytarpheta mutabilis. V. officinalis (officinal). Common Vervain; Holy Herb; Juno's Tears; Pigeon's Grass; Simpler's Joy. fl. lilac, 1/6in. in diameter; spikes dense-flowered, afterwards elongating. l. opposite, oblong, pinnatifid or tripartite, with acute or obtuse lobes; upper ones narrower. Stems 1ft. to 2ft. high, rigid, branched above. Europe (Britain). Plant hispid-pubescent. (F. D. 628; Sy. En. B. 1018.) SYN. V. sororia (S. B. F. G. 202).
V. paniculata (panicled). A form of V. hastata.
V. phlogiflora (flame-flowered). fl. purple or lilac (varying in cultivation to red and blue); corolla eight to nine lines long; spikes terminal, pedunculate, solitary or ternate, cymose-paniculate. l. oblong-or lanceolate-triangular, acute, cuneate at base, entire, long-attenuated into the petioles, incised-serrated, wrinkled, strigose above, hairy beneath, the margins slightly revolute. Stems ascending; branches erect. h. 1 1/2ft. Brazil, 1834. Greenhouse sub-shrub.
V. p. vulgaris (common). fl. in solitary, terminal spikes. Stems slender, decumbent; branches much-spreading, diffuse, ascending-erect. (B. 60; B. M. 3541, P. M. B. iv. 5, and S. B. F. G. ii. 391, under name of V. Tweediana.) V. pulchella (pretty). A synonym of V. tenera.
V. radicans (rooting). fl. lilac, fragrant; corolla twice as long as the pubescent calyx; spikes short, sub-capitate. l. trifid; segments mostly again trifid, the lacinae oblong-linear, slightly fleshy, highly glabrous. Stems procumbent, rooting. Andes, 1832. Greenhouse sub-shrub. V. rugosa (wrinkled). A synonym of V. venosa.
V. sororia (sisterly). a synonym of V. officinalis.
V. stricta (straight). fl. blue; corolla four to five lines long; spikes comparatively thick, dense, canescent, mostly sessile, or leafy-bracted at base. l. nearly sessile, ovate or oblong, very sharply and densely, mostly doubly serrated, rarely incised cinereous with dense, soft, hirsute-villous pubescence, rugoseveiny. h. 1ft. to 2ft. North America. Hardy. (B. M. 1976.) V. sulphurea (sulphur-coloured). fl. pale sulphur-coloured; corolla limb rather large; spikes pedunculate, capitate, many-flowered. l. pinnatipartite or nearly so, petiolate, strigose-hispidulous on both sides; laciniae much spreading, linear, obtuse, revolute. Stems procumbent; branches ascending or erect. h. about 2ft. Chili, 1832. Greenhouse, hairy sub-shrub. (B. R. 1748; S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 221.) V. tenera (tender). fl. violet; corolla tube twice as long as the calyx; spikes terminal, pedunculate, solitary or ternate, fastigiate, at length elongated and relaxed, slightly canescent. l. decurrent in short petioles, laciniate-pinnatifid; segments linear, slightly acute, entire, the margins somewhat revolute. Branches ascending. Brazil, 1827. A much-branched, creeping, green-house sub-shrub. SYN. V. pulchella (S. B. F. G. 295). V. t. Maonetti (Maonette), fl. of a pleasing reddish-violet; corolla segments white-margined. (B. H. 1870, 6; F. d. S. 1129; R. G. 142, f. 1.) V. teucrioides (Teucrium-like). fl. white or pinkish; calyx 1/2in. long; corolla large, sweet-scented at night; spikes terminal, solitary, glandular-hairy. l. ovate or oblong-triangular, shortly cuneate at base, entire, shortly narrowed into the petioles, obtuse, somewhat sinuate-serrated, much wrinkled, the margins revolute, hairy above, tomentose beneath. Stems tufted, rooting at base, ascending, spreading-hairy. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1837. Green-house sub-shrub. (B. M. 3694; P. M. B. v. 243.) V. trifida (trifid-leaved). fl. purple; spikes terminal, many, subsessile, short, very dense, clustered in a head. l. clustered, cuneate at base, sessile, 1/2in. to 1in. long, strigose-hispidulous, trifid or nearly so, emitting fasciculate-leafy branchlets from the axils; segments lanceolate, acuminate, the margins revolute. Branches tetragonal, and as well as the spikes, hairy. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1818. A remarkable, greenhouse sub-shrub. (L. & P. F. G. i., p. 169.) V. triphylla (three-leaved). A synonym of Lippia citriodora. V. Tweediana (Tweedie's). A synonym of V. phlogiflora vulgaris. V. venosa (conspicuous-veined).* fl. lilac or bluish; corolla tube slender, thrice as long as the calyx; terminal spikes sub-ternate, lateral ones pedunculate, fastigiate, at length cylindrical, imbricated. l. approximating, rigid, oblong, sub-cuneate, entire, semi-amplexicaul at base, adnate, acute, incised-serrated, spreading, unequal, the margins revolute, wrinkled and strigose above, hispidulous on the nerves beneath. Stems simple, ascending. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1830. A beautiful and well-known, half-hardy plant, very useful for bedding, particularly if mixed with a silver-leaved Pelargonium. (B. M. 3127; S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 207.) SYN. V. rugosa (S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 318). V. xutha (yellow). fl. purple or blue, more crowded in the strict spikes and larger than in V. officinalis. l. incisely pinnatifid or laciniate, or some of the lower ones tripartite. more or less canescent; lobes deeply toothed. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1824. Half-hardy.
Garden Varieties. Verbenas are amongst the most beautiful of summer bedding plants when they can be induced to succeed; but, unfortunately, of late years this has been an uncertainty, because of the plants being subject to, apparently, some kind of disease. For this reason, and also because stock plants are not, as a rule, easily preserved through the winter, many cultivators have taken to the raising of seedlings each spring for growing only through one summer. This is easily done, as the young plants grow rapidly and flower freely if the seed has been saved from a good source. Green Fly and Mildew are the greatest enemies to which the plants are subject; either of these, if allowed to remain on them, will soon work irreparable mischief. For exhibition purposes, Verbenas may be grown in pots in a cold frame. The following is a list of varieties that are best suited for bedding: BOULE DE NEIGE, white, nicely scented. CRIMSON KING, crimson, with white eye; fine bedder. LADY LONDES-BOROUGH, mauve, with white stripe. LUSTROUS, intense scarlet, with large, pure white eye; strong grower. NEMESIS, very deep pink. PURPLE KING, purple self; a good, well-known, old variety.