Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_8643.JPG-08-17-2023
Flower name (scientific): Verbena bracteata Cavanilles ex Lagasca & RodrĂ­gues PY: 1801. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) ver-BEE-nah brak-tee-AY-tuh
Flower name (common): Big-bract Verbena
Family name (common): Verbena
Family name (scientific): Verbenaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: For the plants from which the leafy branches or twigs were taken and used in religious ceremonies or for medicinal applications. Also, medieval Latin for vervain.
    Specific epithet: From the Latin for having bracts.
Common name origin: On a relative scale, the bracts are rather large, up to six times as long at the flowers are wide, hence the Big-bract part of the common name, and Verbena comes directly from the genus name.
Flower description:
     Size: 0.1 to 0.2 inches (3 to 5 mm)
     Petal count: 5
     Color: pink or blue or purple
     Other: flower arrangement, Spike
Plant description:
     Size: 1 to 20 inches (3 to 51 cm)
     Stem hairy:
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is opposite, type is simple and lobed
     Size: Leaves up to about 7.5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide.
     Color:
     Hairy:
     Other: Shape: leaf, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate or oblanceolate (MP)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common
Bloom time (typical): May to October
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Annual/Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas of prairies, fields, roadsides, sun, dry.
Fruit:
Seed:
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): No close lookalikes.
Ethnobotany: No recorded uses by tribes from Wisconsin. Employed by the Navajo as ceremonial lotion and they prepared a poultice to cure centipede bite (Moerman, p. 591, 1998).
Latitude: 44.799395
Longitude: -91.514067
Altitude: 238.60
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Ashland, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Outagamie, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sawyer, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washburn, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Wood) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (AB, BC, MB, ON, SK) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: na
Homotypic Synonym(s):
Heterotypic Synonym(s):
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): FACU
Wetland Status (MW): FACU