Dakota verbena

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Dakota verbena leaves

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena flowers and leaves

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena habit

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena

Dakota verbena inflorescences

Dakota verbena habit

Morphology

Stem

Prostrate, decumbent or ascending, several to many, stout, to 24 inches long, much-branched from bases, moderately to densely hairy.

Leaves

Variable, opposite, simple, stalked, 1-3-pinnately divided into linear or linear-oblong segments, .5 to 2.5 inches long, .5 to 2.5 inches wide, stiff-hairy; margins often rolling downward; tips blunt to slightly pointed.

Inflorescence

Spikes, thick, 1/2 to 8 inches long, umbrella-like, terminal.

Flower

5-parted; calyx lobes unequal, veins hairy; corollas 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide, lavender, pink, or bluish purple, outer surface hairy; lobes 5, spreading; tips notched; stamens 4, in 2 groups.

Fruit

4 nutlets, cylindric, pitted, grayish black, each 1-seeded.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry prairies, plains, pastures, disturbed areas, and roadsides, most abundant on rocky slopes.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans sometimes used the leaves in treatments of snakebites.

Additional Notes

Synonyms

Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.