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Birds, Butterflies, Butterfly Larvae, Bees, Other Showy Insects
No
Conservation Status
No
Interesting Tidbits
Provides nectar for butterflies such as: orange sulphur, wood nymph. (Wildtype)
Habitat Information:
Moist waste places, pastures, wet meadows and thickets, meadows, riparian edges of streams, along roads, railway lines. (Missouriplants.com)
Seeds are attractive to cardinals, swamp sparrows, field sparrows, song sparrows and slate coloured juncos. Rabbits eat leaves. The bitter taste deters herbivores. (USDA)
Garden Uses: Blue Vervain is a very attractive wetland plant with delicate purple flowers on long thin spikes that look like a multi stemmed candelabra. (Evergreen)
Has made its way into gardens, as is quite adept at living in dry gardens. It has not been proven hugely aggressive, but seeds itself liberally in gardens, which is great for naturalization purposes, but may be a frustration for gardeners. To counteract this, in the fall when seeds are finished drying on the plant, you can deposit the seed heads where you would like to see them next year, or give them away. (Evergreen)
Blue vervain is a gorgeous subtle violet blue coloured plant that actually does well in many soil types in gardens. It works well as a backdrop to other complementary coloured flowers, and is paired well with purples such as its cousin, hoary vervain, ironweed and pinks, such as pale purple coneflower. (Evergreen)
Even though it is a wetland plant, it is very drought tolerant, and seems to do fine in a variety of environments, seeding itself well, popping up in cracks in the pavement even. It will also sometimes get white mould on its leaves if stressed, but it doesn't seem to be too affected by it. (Johnson, L., The new Ontario Naturalized Garden, 1999)
To be water conservation friendly, this plant is a great choice in a wet, and full sun or part shade pond garden, great at the outflow of a residential downspout, or for use in bioswales or stormwater ponds, where water is captured and held to create periodic or constant wet conditions. (Evergreen)
Insect Relationships: Caterpillars who feed on leaves are the verbena moth, and buckeye butterfly. Long and short tongued bees, epoline cuckoo bees, eucerine miner bees, halactid bees, verbena bees thread wasted wasp, bee flies, thick headed flies, and golden soldier beetle. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
Traditional Edible, Medicinal Uses: Leaves and roots are medicinal, seed and leaves are edible. Roots which are more active than leaves have been used in treatment of stomach aches, gravel, worms, scrofula. Infusion used for early stage fever. Snuff made to treat nosebleeds. Seed edible roasted, ground into powder, used whole as pinole. Flour slightly bitter, however leaching flour can help the bitterness. Tea substitute made of leaves.(Plants for a Future)
Blue vervain can interfere with blood pressure and hormone therapy, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea. CARE should be taken with the use of herbal medicines. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
This plant has been used for many years as a medicinal herb for treating convalescents and people suffering from depression, headaches, jaundice, cramps, coughs and fevers. Externally, it has been applied to wounds, ulcers and acne. Swamp vervain in large doses can cause vomiting and diarrhea. (Kershaw)
It was used by aboriginal peoples for the treatment of ailments.
Network of Nature assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the database. While most entries are accurate, errors may occur. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information and we are not responsible for any errors in the information or for any adverse effects relating to the use of the plants or the information. If you notice a problem with the information, please let us know by sending an email so we can correct it.
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