Weed Information: Verbena urticifolia (vervain, white)
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Verbena urticifolia (vervain, white)

Family: Verbenaceae

Description

Similar in general habit to Verbena hastata and Verbena stricta but with the spikes not very dense and the flowers not overlapping. The name urticifolia means `leaves like stinging nettle` and refers to the shape of the leaves of this biennial or perennial. The small, white tubular flowers are found in narrow spikes at the top of the plant.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary spikes
  • Panicle
  • Terminal spike
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • United from 25% - 75% length
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers slightly irregular
  • Flowers strongly irregular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United from 25% - 75% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 5 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
  • 4 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Nutlets, 4
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Oblong
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Dentate
  • Serrate
  • Serrate, doubly
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Rounded
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Puberulent
  • Pubescent
  • Sparsely hairy
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
  • 1.5 - 2.0 meters (5.0 - 6.6 feet)
  • 2 - 2.5 meters (6.6 - 8.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Round
  • Square
  • Winged
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leaves greatly reduced
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Rhizomatous

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Arizona
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • South Dakota
  • Nebraska
Other
  • District of Columbia
Canadian Province or Territory
  • New Brunswick
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan

  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 124
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 79
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 151
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 167
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 366, 367
  • Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 99
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 72
  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 541
  • Weeds of the North Central States, 1981 Univ. of Illinois, Urbana - Champaign Bulletin # 772, See page: 148
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 151
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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