Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

WOOLLY VERBENA

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Verbena stricta Vent.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-5 feet

Family: Verbenaceae - Vervain Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Also Called:

Hoary vervain.

Stems:

Erect, stout, 1 to several, simple or branched above, very leafy, velvety hairy.

Leaves:

Opposite, simple, mostly sessile, broadly ovate, elliptic, or lanceolate, 1 to 4 inches long, 1/2 to 2 inches wide, densely hairy, conspicuously veined underneath; margins prominently toothed.

Inflorescences:

Spikes, narrow, erect, to 12 inches long, terminal.

Flowers:

Overlapping; calyces 5-lobed, less than 1/4 inch long, densely hairy, tips sharply pointed; corollas blue to purple, 1/3 inch wide, lobes 5, pubescent outside; stamens 4, in 2 groups.

Fruits:

4 nutlets, covered with tiny bumps, grayish brown, each 1-seeded.

Habitat:

Dry soils of pastures, roadsides, disturbed areas, farmyards, and waste ground.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Uses:

Plains Indians made a tea from the leaves and used it to treat stomachaches. Prairie chickens and small mammals eat the seeds.

Comments:

Woolly verbena is very drought-resistant, with roots that can descend to 12 feet. Cattle will not consume it due to its bitter taste so it spreads in overgrazed pastures.

Woolly verbena flowers