Purpletop vervain is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In North American horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names "purpletop" (also used for the grass Tridens flavus) and "South American vervain" (which can mean any of the numerous species in the genus Verbena occurring in that continent). It is native to tropical South America where it grows throughout most of the warm regions, from Colombia and Brazil to Argentina and Chile. Verbena is a rapid-growing, clump-forming tender perennial.

Purpletop vervain is grown and sold as an ornamental plant.

Within the realm of naturopathic medicine and folklore, purpletop vervain is currently not used in any folklore or naturopathic treatments. Species in the verbena family have been suspected of causing reproductive problems in animals as well as causing photosensitization, sickness, and death.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that plants should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

There is currently no confirmed data on the edibility of purpletop vervain.

Purpletop vervain can go along roadsides, rough pasture, waste places, and in maintained gardens. Purpletop vervain cannot grow in the shade and prefers well drained and pH neutral moist soil in full sun.

Soil Conditions
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Notes:

Purpletop vervain is a tall and slender-stemmed perennial. It can grow to up to 120cm tall and can spread to 90 cm wide. At maturity, it will develop a woody base. Fragrant lavender to rose-purple flowers are in tight clusters located on terminal and axillary stems, blooming from mid-summer until fall frost. The stem is square with very long internodes. Leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate with a toothed margin and grow up to 10 cm long.

Plant Height	80cm to 120cm
Habitat	Roadsides, Rough pastures, Waste places, Gardens
Leaves	Lanceolate 10cm long leaves
Leaf Margin	Serrate
Leaf Venation	Cross-venulate
Stems	Self standing, square woody base
Flowering Season	July to October
Flower Type	Rounded clusters of flowers located on axillary stems
Flower Colour	Pink to Lavender
Pollination	Wind, Insects; specifically bees
Flower Gender	Flowers are hermaphrodite and the plants are self-fertile
Fruit	Small seeds
USDA Zone	7A (-15.5°C to -17.7 °C) cold weather limit

The following health hazards should be noted when handling or choosing a location to plant purpletop vervain:

	TOXIC Species in the verbena family contain glycoside verbenalin which can cause sickness or death.
	ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD Species in the verbena family can cause reproductive problems in cattle and photosensitization in other species

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see an artist rendering, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of purpletop vervain. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see a magnified view, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of the seeds created by purpletop vervain for propagation. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

Purpletop vervain can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the following four names:

Clustertop Vervain

Argentinian Vervain

Tall Verbena

Pretty Verbena

Purpletop vervain can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic	الأرجواني الأعلى لويزة	Bulgarian		Chinese (Sim)	紫金顶马鞭草
Croatian	Ljubičasta Vrh Verbena	Czech		Danish
Dutch		Esperanto	Purpura Top Kermeso	Estonian
Finnish		French	Violet Top Verveine	German
Greek		Hebrew	סגול למעלה ורבן	Hungarian
Italian		Japanese	パープルトップバーベナ	Korean	보라색 탑 버베나
Low Saxon		Lithuanian	Violetinė viršų Verbenų	Norwegian
Persian	بنفش بالا گل شاه پسند	Polish		Portuguese
Romanian		Russian	Фиолетовый Топ Вербена	Slovak
Spanish		Swedish		Tagalog
Turkish		Ukrainian	Фіолетовий Топ Вербена	Vietnamese

The information provided in this conservation assessment has been provided by the Natureserve Database in conjuction with various federal, provincial, state, county, district, regional, and municipal governments as well as public and private conservation authorities. Information in this section is accurate from the last time this article was updated.
	Purpletop Vervain has no conservation status as it is considered an exotic and or invasive species in North America.

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable garden tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify plant samples in a garden. Click on the tags shown on the the screen or -click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a purpletop vervain identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Folklore	D. S. Vohra (1 June 2004). Bach Flower Remedies: A Comprehensive Study. B. Jain Publishers.ISBN 978-81-7021-271-3.
Background	A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
Background	Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (WSNWCB) (2007): Tall Verbena, Purple Top, Cluster Flower Vervain
Biology	Yuan, Yao-Wu & Olmstead, Richard G. (2008): A species-level phylogenetic study of the Verbena complex (Verbenaceae) indicates two independent intergeneric chloroplast transfers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Image Rendering	USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environment	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. pp 415-420 ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. pp 415-420 ISBN 0-375-40232-2
May 01, 2015	The last time this page was updated
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