Plant Name Purpletop Vervain
Scientific Name Verbena Bonariensis
Family Verbena
Plant Type Perennial
Start of Blooming Season July
End of Blooming Season October
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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.

Please note that MIROFOSS can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the consumption of plant species which are found in the wild. This information is provided here as a reference only.


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 90cm 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 10cm 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:

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 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
Environment National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
May 01, 2015 The last time this page was updated
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