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European Vervain

Verbena officinalis

Found in disturbed areas, riverbanks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 53%

Light
Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Bloom
June to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 11 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Verbena

  • Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
  • Cenopis reticulatanaReticulated Fruitworm Moth
  • Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
  • Crambodes talidiformisVerbena Groundling, Verbena Moth
  • Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
  • Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
  • Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
  • Neogalea suniaLantana Stick Caterpillar, Catabena Moth
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Show all 11
  • Xenotemna pallorana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
2Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Verbena

  • Calliopsis michenerella
  • Calliopsis nebraskensis
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Verbena

  • Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Verbenaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Herb Of The Cross

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNA
Global rankGNR
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources