Plate 31. Verbena chamædryfolia.
Drawn from Nature by M.R. Engraved by R. Havell Junr.
VERBENA Chamædryfolia.
Scarlet flowered Vervain.
Class and Order.—Didynamia Angiospernia.
| Syn. | Verbena chamædryfolia. | Persoon's Syn. vol. 2. p. 138. |
| — | Verbena chamædryfolia. | Sweet's B. F. G. 2d series, p. 9. |
| — | Verbena melindres. | Bot. Reg. pl. 1184. |
Root fibrous, stem prostrate, branching—leaves opposite, sessile, oblong, ovate, margins deeply serrate, hairy on both sides—flowers terminal, corymbose—calyx campanulate, five cleft—corolla very bright crimson, tubular, limb spreading, five segments, obtuse emarginate—throat white, hairy—stamens four, two long, two short, inserted in the tube of the corolla—anthers two lobed, style one, smooth, stigma bifid, germen smooth.
The unrivalled brilliancy of the colour of this beautiful species of Verbena, renders it a most ornamental plant for the front of the flower borders, and when grown in large patches it is almost impossible to give an idea of the dazzling splendour of its appearance; it is a plant of the easiest cultivation, and if allowed to grow according to its natural habit, which is prostrate, it will propagate itself by the radicles which are produced at the different joints, and by this means will attach itself to the ground; the plants thus rooted may be removed any time. A brown loamy soil, a good deal of moisture, and a sheltered situation are necessary, and as it is doubtful how it may bear the severity of our winters, it is the safest method to keep some plants in a frame, during severe frosts, which will flower early in the ensuing spring. It is a native of Paraguay and Buenos Ayres, and was introduced into this country about 1827. There are only two other species worth cultivating in the flower garden.