Blue Vervain

Verbena hastata L.

Other common names: Verbain, false verbain, wild hyssop, simpler's-joy, ironweed.

Habitat and range: Vervain is found in moist fields, meadows, and waste places from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and Florida, Nebraska, and Arizona.

Description: This rather rough, finely haired herb has an erect, straight 4-sided stem, 4 to 7 feet high, usually branched above with broadly lance-shaped sharply toothed leaves. The small, usually blue, flowers are densely clustered in numerous slender panicled spikes 2 to 6 inches long.

Part used: The herb.