Verbena incompta

Detailed description

Plants annual or short-lived perennial, taprooted or with ligneous fibrous roots. Stems erect, 100–200 cm, scabrous to hispid or hispid-hirsute, eglandular. Leaves persistent, ovate to ovatelanceolate, oblong-elliptic, or obovate, basally subclasping and subcordate, midstem blades (3–)5–10 cm x 10–35 mm, veins impressed adaxially, hispid-hirsute on both surfaces or strigose-hirsute adaxially, margins coarsely serrate; petioles absent. Spikes in 3s, forming compound cymes, the central mostly sessile on peduncles 0(–3) mm, inflorescence aspect corymbiform, comprising relatively compact and distinct clusters and subclusters, central and laterals dense and thick in fruit, (6–)10–40(–55) mm x 4–6 mm; floral bracts ovate to lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, keeled, 3–4 mm, slightly longer than the calyces or equal, margins ciliate. Calyces 2.5–3.5 mm, strigose to strigose-hirsute, eglandular, lobes connivent. Corollas purple to red-purple, violet, or white, tubes 2.5–4 mm, limbs 3.5–5.5 mm in diam. Nutlets 1–1.2 (–1.4) mm, commissural faces extending to very tip of nutlets, densely bullate.