Flower ID: IMG_0975.JPG-07-02-2017 Flower name (scientific): Verbena stricta Ventenat PY: 1801. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) ver-BEE-nuh STRIK-tah Flower name (common): Hoary Vervain Family name (common): Vervain 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: Upright, erect. Common name origin: From the hairy appearance of the stems and from the French verveine, plants thought to have therapeutic properties. Flower description: Size: 0.2 to 0.4 inches (0.5 to 1.0 cm) Petal count: 5 Color: purple Other: flower arrangement, Spike Plant description: Erect Size: 8 to 36 inches (20 to 91 cm) Stem hairy: Other: Leaf description: attachment is opposite, type is simple Size: Leaves up to 9 cm long and up to 5 to 7 cm wide. Color: Hairy: Other: Shape: leaf, oval-ovate or obovate (IL) Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common Bloom time (typical): July to September Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Annual, perennial. Habitat: Prairies, savannas, streambanks, forest openings, fields, roadsides, sun, dry to moist. Fruit: Seed: Importance to wildlife: Similar species (if any): Verbena hastata (Blue Vervain) has some resemblance, but this species has flowers about 3 to 8 mm in size and leaves with petioles that are typically 10 to 25 mm long, whereas Verbena stricta has flowers about 5 to 10 mm in size and leaves that are sessile to very short petiolate. Ethnobotany: No recorded uses by tribes in the Wisconsin region, but employed by the Dakota to prepare medicine for stomachaches and by the Omaha to make beverage tea (Moerman, p. 592, 1998). Latitude: Longitude: Altitude: Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Barron, Brown, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Door, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sawyer, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Wood) Click here for distribution map In US: (AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY) In Canada: (ON, QC) References: Synonym(s): Basionym: na Homotypic Synonym(s): Heterotypic Synonym(s): Autonym: na