Verbena
a genus of plants of the consists of numerous species of herbs or shrubs which inhabit the tropical and numerous in America, more rare in Asia and Africa. They have opposite leaves, sessile bracteated flowers in simple or panicled spikes, terminal or axillary; a tubular five-toothed calyx, tubular corolla more or less curved with a spreading la more or less curved with a spreading stamens, included in the tube, the upper pair sometimes without anthers; a slender style with capitate stigmas. The ripe fruit splits into two or four nutlets, each containing one seed. The genus is more remarkable for the beauty of a number of the species, which under culvarieties greatly prized for their briltivation have given origin to numerous liant colored flowers, than for other virtues, though formerly the English species was credited with potent medicinal cies was credited with potent medicinal qualities, particularly in ailments of the bladder and in the cure of defective vision, which, however, appear to have been purely imaginary. It was also worn on the person as a protection against blasts and to promote general good fortune, for which purpose it was gathered with special observances and is Aloysia citriodora, which belongs to the same natural order; but the perthe same natural order; but the per- fumers' oil of verbena is derived from the lemon grass.
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