Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain): Minnesota Wildflowers

Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain)

Plant Info
Also known as:	Swamp Verbena
Genus:	Verbena
Family:	Verbenaceae (Verbena)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun; wet fields, shores, ditches
Bloom season:	June - September
Plant height:	1 to 6 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Battle Creek Regional Park Long Lake Regional Park Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Thin spike, 2 to 5 inches long, of blue to violet blue flowers. Individual flowers are a little less than ¼ inch across and have 5 petals fused at the base, forming a short tube. There are several spikes at the top of the plant. The spikes bloom from the bottom up.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are narrow, to 7 inches long and about 1 inch wide, with short leaf stems. The edges are coarsely toothed and the leaf base and tip are both pointed. The leaves near the base of the plant are sometimes lobed into 3 sections. Attachment is opposite. The stem is square, may be reddish or green, and may be somewhat hairy.

Notes:

With a square stem and opposite leaves, Blue Vervain can be mistaken as a member of the Mint family, but it is not. It might also be confused with Hoary Vervain, but the flowers of Blue Vervain are smaller, its leaves are longer and narrower, and have short leaf stems. Hoary Vervain is also more partial to dry areas.

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More photos

full size plant, about 4 feet tall, plus a short sprout

Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, July 2006 and June 2007

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Elizabeth in Rush Lake Township, Ottertail
on: 2009-07-31 09:49:11

I discovered this plant in my flower bed of daylilies and Asian lilies. This is the first time I believed I have seen it, but I might have pulled it up as a weed before it bloomed. We have an automatic sprinkling system using water from the lake so it gets plenty of water.

Posted by: Walter in Wright County, French Lake Tow
on: 2009-08-04 13:44:09

I just discovered thousands of these Blue Vervain. They apparently liked the border of my pond that was put in. They formed a complete circle around it, and were my favorite flowers. I rarely spotted them, now there are thousands!

Posted by: K Chayka
on: 2009-08-04 15:27:40

This is one of my favorite flowers, too. :-)

Posted by: Chris in Minnetonka
on: 2009-09-02 22:48:06

Cool flowers. I found a number of these Sept 1 on Pike Island, Fort Snelling State Park, just a stone's toss from the river shore. I was impressed by these and other flowers blooming there, including Tall Bellflowers, another favorite. They were keeping the bees happy.

Posted by: Randy in Ft. Snelling State Park
on: 2011-07-30 18:13:14

Attractive plant growing with wet feet around the outlet pond of Snelling Lake.