| Author | L. | |
| Distribution | Scattered in the Mountains and northern parts of the Piedmont, east to Warren and Wake counties. Considered likely non-natural in the Coastal Plain.
This is a very widespread species across Canada and the northern half of the U.S. It ranges south to NC, northern MS, and northern TX. | |
| Abundance | Infrequent in the northern Mountains, south to Avery County. Very rare to rare south to Transylvania County, and perhaps absent in the southwestern counties. Very rare in the northern half of the Piedmont, with records just for 5 counties. This is a Watch List species. The NCNHP's State Rank of S2S3 may be a bit liberal, and perhaps S2 is better; but, it seems to be not scarce in the northern mountains. | |
| Habitat | This is a wetland species of open habitats. It is most often found in NC in wet meadows, but it also grows in bogs, marshes, and other sunny and wet/damp places. | |
| Phenology | Blooms from June to October, and fruits soon after flowering. | |
| Identification | This is one of several quite tall and robust native Verbena species, often reaching 4-5 feet tall, and being very striking when a colony is seen in bloom. It usually has an unbranched stem, with numerous pairs of opposite stem leaves. The lower leaves are often tripartite, deeply cut into three lobes, though most leaves are smaller and are essentially narrowly elliptic to lanceolate; leaves average about 3-4 inches long and are serrated. The upper part of the stem has numerous small branches, or at least consists of a leafy panicle of numerous spikes, in a pyramidal shape. Each spike is several inches long, consisting of many dense blue or violet-blue flowers. Even though each flower is very small, the cluster of spikes, all strongly erect, gives a bright blue or violet-blue shade to a wet meadow where a stand of these plants is growing. However, very few populations are likely protected, as most occur in wet meadows, which are not targets for conservation in the state. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Common Vervain, Swamp Verbena | |
| State Rank | S2S3 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | W7 [W1] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FAC link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
