Verbena litoralis
Common names
blue vervain
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Blue, Red/Pink
Detailed description
Plants annual or short-lived perennial, taprooted or fibrous rooted. Stems erect, 50–100 cm, sparsely strigose to hirsute-strigose or hispid-hirsute, eglandular. Leaves persistent, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, midstem blades 2–5(–11) cm x 1–1.5 cm, veins not impressed adaxially, hirsute-strigose adaxially, glabrate to sparsely or moderately strigose-hirsute abaxially, eglandular, margins coarsely serrate on distal 1/2–2/3, not revolute; petioles absent or 1–5 mm. Spikes in 3s, forming obscure compound cymes, central pedunculate on peduncles 10–40 mm, inflorescence aspect loosely paniculiform, comprising well-separated spikes, central and laterals, 3– 15 cm x 2–3 mm, fruits becoming remote on at least the proximal 1/4–1/2; floral bracts ovatelanceolate, 1–1.5 mm, shorter than the calyces, margins ciliate, adaxial surface glabrous to sparsely strigose. Calyces 1.8–2.2 mm, sparsely and loosely strigillose to hispidulous-strigose, eglandular, lobes connivent. Corollas white to blue, purplish, or pale violet, tubes 2–2.5(–3) mm, 0–0.5(–1) mm longer than the calyx, limbs 1.5–2 mm in diam. Nutlets 1.1–1.5 mm, commissural faces extending to very tip of nutlets, bullate, rarely bare. 2n = 28.
Similar taxa
Most similar to V. officinalis but separated by the leaves at most being deeply toothed, the inflorescence axis being eglandular and the flower spikes (1-)2-8(-10) cm long somewhat contracted.
Distribution
North Island: Far North to Auckland, Auckland, and Bay of Plenty, uncommon south to Palmerston North and Levin.
Introduced in West Indies, Africa, Indian Ocean Islands (Reunion, Mauritius), Pacific Islands, Australia.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Verbena caracasana Kunth, Verbena affinis Mart. & Gal., Verbena longifolia Mart. & Gal., Verbena litoralis var. leptostachya Schauer Verbena litoralis var. pycnostachya Schauer, Verbena litoralis var. glabrior Bentham, Verbena nudiflora Nutt. ex Turcz., Verbena paucifolia Turcz., Verbena integrifolia Sessé & Mociño [nom. illeg.?], Verbena litoralis var. albiflora Moldenke, Verbena gentryi Moldenke, Verbena longifolia forma albiflora Moldenke, Verbena integrifolia Sessé & Mociño forma albiflora Moldenke, Verbena longifolia forma albiflora Moldenke, Verbena minutiflora Briq. ex Moldenke var. peruviana Moldenke, Verbena litoralis var. portoricensis Moldenke.
Ecology
Year naturalised
1911
Origin
Native to northern and western South America (northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela), northward through Central America and Mexico (Aguascalientes, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Edo. Mexico, Michoacan, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz).
Other information
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
VERLIT
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Nesom G.L. (2010). Taxonomic notes on Verbena bonariensis (Verbenaceae) and related species in the USA. Phytoneuron 12: 1–16.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by Marley Ford (5 March 2022). Brief description and Distribution sections are copied from Nesom (2010).