VERBENACEAE, a family of dicotyledonous plants, com prising about 7o genera and some 75o species of herbs, shrubs and trees, nearly all tropical and subtropical. Vervain (q.v.) is British. Lippia and Cymbopogon yield verbena oil and several species, as teak (Tectona grandis), supply useful timber. Many are lianes. Some species bear thorns; others are xerophytic.
Numerous species are cultivated for ornament, as the verbena (q.v.), chaste-tree (Vitex Agnus-castus), glory-bower (Cleroden drum), purple wreath (Petraea volubilis), golden dewdrop (Du rantia repens), bluebeard (Caryopteris incana) and French mul berry (Callicarpa americana).