Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

BLUE VERBENA

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Verbena hastata L.

Stafford County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 2-7 feet

Family: Verbenaceae - Vervain Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Also Called:

Blue vervain.

Stems:

Erect, 4-angled, usually branched above, rough hairy.

Leaves:

Opposite, simple, stalked, lanceolate to ovate, 1.5 to 7 inches long, .75 to 2.5 inches wide, green above, gray-green pubescent below, veins prominently pinnate; margins coarsely toothed; tips tapered to sharp points; smaller leaves in axils of stem leaves.

Inflorescences:

Spikes, narrow, stiffly erect, slender, 2 to 6 inches long, many-flowered, terminal, elongate in fruit.

Flowers:

5-parted; calyces 5-lobed, pubescent, tips pointed; corollas bluish purple or rarely white, less than 1/4 inch wide, lobes 5, pubescent outside.

Fruits:

4 nutlets, tiny, reddish brown, each 1-seeded.

Habitat:

Moist meadows, near springs and seep areas, borders of woods and thickets, stream banks, and roadsides, most abundant on gravelly or heavy loam soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Uses:

Native Americans used blue verbena to treat colds, coughs, and digestive disorders, and made a tea with the leaves. Sparrows and finches will consume the seeds.

Comments:

This is the tallest verbena in Kansas.

Blue verbens