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Verbena urticifolia

Common name:	White Vervain	Family:	Verbenaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - Quebec and Ontario to North Dakota, south to Florida and Texas.
Habitat:	Woodlands, pastures, along streams, roadsides and waste areas[228].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	White Vervain [H,P,B,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	urticifolia = nettle like leaves
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Verbena family
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.25m. It is hardy to zone 5. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Miscellany Restorative Women's complaints.

A decoction of the root is given to babies to break out the hives[207]. The sweetened root decoction is drunk as an aid for flu[207]. An infusion of the root has been used in the treatment of profuse menstruation[257].
The root has been eaten to revive a patient and restore them to health[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any moderately fertile well-drained but moisture retentive soil in a sunny position[1, 200].
Hardy to about -15° c[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse or cold frame[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.
Basal cuttings in early summer. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Verbenaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[228] McGregor. R. L. & Barkley. T. M. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas. 1986 ISBN 070060295x
A useful source of habitats.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Verbena+urticifolia
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Verbena+urticifolia

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