Seasonal Wild Flowers

Vervain

Verbena officinalis

Verbenaceae

June to September

It is found mainly in counties south of the Wash.

It is scattered in the Midlands and the North.

For a map see the National Biodiversity Network Gateway

It grows beside paths and in bare and grassy waste places,

especially on calcareous soils.

It is an archaeophyte, which has been cultivated in the UK since

neolithic times, and was extensively grown in the Middle Ages as

a medicinal plant.

Vervain is a slightly bushy, wiry, perennial herb, growing up to 75m.

The flowers are small, up to 5mm, in long, branched spikes.

There are 5 pale-lilac petals, but they look 2-lipped.

Upper leaves are lanceolate and opposite.

Lower leaves are pinnately lobed and opposite.

Stems are square, stiff and branched.

It is an ancient sacred herb with a huge number of reported

'activities', ranging from aphrodisiac to anti-cancer.

Its growth and properties are discussed in this Wikipedia link.

Verrvain in rough grassland

Flower spikes

Close-up 1 of 5-petalled, 2-lipped flowers

Close-up 2 of flowers

Opposite upper leaves

Lobed, lower leaves

Square stem