| Verbena stricta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hoary vervain on a mixed-grass prairie of Lacreek NWR | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Verbenaceae |
| Genus: | Verbena |
| Species: | V. stricta |
| Binomial name | |
| Verbena stricta Vent. | |
Verbena stricta, also known as hoary verbena [1] or hoary vervain, [2] is a small purple wildflower native to a large region of the central United States. [3]
Verbena stricta is native to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. [4] Because of its versatility and hardiness, the species is even more widespread; the only states where it does not appear are Oregon, California, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. [4] It is mostly found in meadows; fields; [3] dry, sandy soils; [2] and anthropogenic biomes, which include man-made or disturbed habitats. [4] Due to the habitats V. stricta lives in, it is an extremely drought-resistant and nonaggressive species. [4]
In ideal growing conditions it can grow up to 2–4 feet (0.6–1.2 m) [4] with a spike topping the plant. [5] This spike includes a densely packed cluster of half-inch (1 cm) flowers.
The flowers can bloom in a variety of colors, the majority of them purple or a lavender shade, [4] with rose pink or white rarely appearing. [5] The flower includes five petals fused at the base, forming a short tube. [5] The petal lobes are unequal in size and length, with the two later lobes being the largest and a notched lobe at the top of the bottom lobe. [5] As the plant ages, the spike atop the plant will elongate. The spike topping the plant will eventually seed and encapsulate tiny nutlets. [5] The fruit is usually 0.08–0.12 inches (2–3 mm) in length when ripe. [3]
The leaves are, on average, 2–3 inches (5–8 cm) long with an opposite pattern along the stem of the plant. [5] The leaves have a heavy serrated edge with an oval to egg shape and a pointed tip. All leaves are covered in dense hair and are completely stalkless. [5] The stems of this plant are square and are also covered in short, dense hair. The base of the stem can include a reddish color.
Verbena stricta blooms in the early summer [2] and stays flowering through September until its seeds ripen. [4]
Verbena stricta is an extremely important component of many butterfly gardens, as the leaves are the ideal food for the larval form of the common buckeye butterfly. [4] The seeds are also an important dietary portion of many small birds and mammals. [4]
Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous plant species in the family Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening, Good & Plenties, and winter gilliflower.
Verbena, also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas and Asia; however, Verbena officinalis, the common vervain or common verbena, is the type species and native to Europe.
Thelesperma filifolium, commonly known as stiff greenthread, or plains greenthread, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is often found growing in shallow soils. It prefers disturbed sites in dry, sandy or gravelly soil with a neutral to basic pH. Stiff greenthread adapts to various soil conditions, including loam, clay, caliche, and roadsides. It blooms between March and June and often into the fall.
Verbena brasiliensis, the Brazilian verbena or Brazilian vervain, is a flowering plant species from the vervain family (Verbenaceae). It is native to parts of South America, namely Brazil, but has spread its range in recent times and has occasionally become an invasive weed. It is an annual plant with purple flowers, and it has been introduced outside of its native range as an ornamental plant, and is now largely considered an invasive weed in these regions.
Geranium viscosissimum, commonly known as the sticky purple geranium, is a perennial in the flowering plant family Geraniaceae. It is thought to be a protocarnivorous plant.
Liatris spicata, the dense blazing star or prairie feather, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America where it grows in moist prairies and sedge meadows.
Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.
Verbena urticifolia, known as nettle-leaved vervain or white vervain, is a herbaceous plant in the vervain family (Verbenaceae). It belongs to the "true" vervains of genus Verbena.
Verbena hastata, the American vervain, blue vervain or swamp verbena, is a flowering plant in the vervain family Verbenaceae. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with opposite, simple leaves which have double-serrate margins, borne on stiffly erect, branching square stems. The purple flowers appear in summer. This is a common plant that occurs across North America. It is hardy and drought resistant.
Zizia aurea is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant of the carrot family Apiaceae. It is native to eastern Canada and the United States, from the eastern Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast. It is named for Johann Baptist Ziz, a German botanist.
Dalea candida is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name white prairie clover. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico. It can sometimes be found outside its range as an introduced species. It grows in many types of habitat, including several types of prairie, foothills, woods, forests, and disturbed areas.
Verbena bracteata is a species of verbena known by the common names bracted vervain, bigbract verbena, prostrate vervain, and carpet vervain. It is native to North America where it is widespread, occurring throughout the continent except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It occurs in many types of habitat, especially disturbed areas. It typically blooms between the months of May and October. This annual or biennial herb produces several hairy, spreading stems up to 30 centimeters long forming a low mat on the ground. The hairy leaves are toothed or lobed. The inflorescence is a spike of flowers which is dense with long, pointed, leaflike bracts each up to 8 millimeters long. Each small tubular flower is about half a centimeter wide and white to pale purple in color.
Glandularia gooddingii is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by the common name southwestern mock vervain. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it occurs in sandy and rocky desert habitat. It is a perennial herb producing several hairy, decumbent to erect stems up to 45 centimeters long. The hairy leaves are generally divided at the base into a few lobes, which are edged with large teeth or small lobes. The plant blooms in large, dense, head-like spikes of many flowers. Each flower has a calyx of hairy sepals and a pale purple-blue corolla up to 1.4 centimeters long.
Verbena litoralis is a species of verbena known by the common names seashore vervain and Brazilian vervain, and in Hawaiian, ōwī. It is native to the Americas from Mexico south through Central and South America to Argentina and Chile. It is present throughout the world as an introduced species and in some areas a noxious weed. It is naturalized in the contiguous United States, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Mauritius, the Galápagos Islands, Australia, Easter Island, French Polynesia, Japan, New Zealand, and other places. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed and cultivated areas.
Verbena menthifolia is a species of verbena known by the common name mint-leaved vervain or mint vervain. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it occurs in many types of open, dry habitat such as desert scrub. This perennial herb produces one or more rough-haired, erect stems up to about 75 centimeters in maximum height. The hairy leaves are a few centimeters long and are divided near the base into a few narrow lobes which have serrated edges. The inflorescence is made up of one to three narrow, erect spikes of flowers up to 30 centimeters long. The flowers are spaced, not densely packed on the slender spike. Each flower has a small purple corolla 2 or 3 millimeters wide.
Glandularia pulchella is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by the common name South American mock vervain. It is native to Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, and it is present elsewhere as an introduced species and roadside weed. It is an annual or perennial herb producing one or more stems growing decumbent to erect in form and hairy to hairless in texture. The rough-haired leaves are divided deeply into lobes. The inflorescence is a dense, headlike spike of many flowers up to 1.5 centimeters wide. Each flower corolla is up to 1.4 centimeters wide and white to purple in color.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central north America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
Ceanothus herbaceus, also known as Jersey tea, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae and is similar to Ceanothus americanus and Ceanothus sanguineus. It is a perennial shrub which is native to North America.
Monarda bradburiana, the eastern beebalm or Bradbury's beebalm, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, that is native to much of the southeastern United States.
Verbena canadensis, commonly known as the rose mock vervain, rose verbena, clump verbena or rose vervain is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae). It is native to the eastern and south-central areas of the United States. This species is widely cultivated as an ornamental, and naturalized populations have been established outside its native range, such as in the northeastern U.S.