02.
A Bit of Botany
a little botany about blue vervain
description
Blue vervain, a member of the Verbenaceae family, is a slender, but erect,
herbaceous perennial plant that can reach a height of up to 5' tall, branching occasionally in
the upper half.
The green or red stems are four-angled, sometimes with fine
white hairs. The opposite leaves are up to 6" long and 1" across. They are
lanceolate, conspicuously veined, and have short petioles. The margins are
coarsely serrated with variably sized teeth.
The upper stems terminate in a
panicle of flowering spikes. These erect spikes are up to 5" long, and
densely crowded all around with numerous reddish blue or violet flowers.
Each flower is a little less than ¼" across, and has 5 lobes flaring outward
from a slender corolla tube. There is no scent.
Four nutlets are produced
per flower—they are reddish brown, oblong, and triangular convex. The
blooming period occurs from mid- to late summer, and lasts about 1 ½ months.
The root system has fibrous roots and short rhizomes.
common names & nomenclature
The Dakota name for blue vervain translates as the word “medicine,” and the Omaha and Ponca name translates as “herb medicine.”
Also known as:
vervain, blue vervain, swamp verbena, wild hyssop, simpler's joy, american vervain, false vervain, traveler's joy, indian hyssop, purvain, herb of grace, herbe sacrée, herba veneris
