Narrowleaf Vervain
Verbena simplex
Found in glades, prairies, woodlands, forests, rock outcrops, and roadsides, over limestone or mafic rocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 8–24 inches
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to somewhat dry
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 69 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Habitats
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; prairies and grasslands; forests and woodlands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Verbena
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Catabena lineolataFine-Lined Sallow
- 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
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Show all 11
- Xenotemna pallorana
39BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Verbena
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
2Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Verbena
- Calliopsis michenerella
- Calliopsis nebraskensis
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
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Verbenaceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Height · “8–24 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun (6+ hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide
- Soil · “Dry-mesic; Dry” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Also known as
Narrow Leaf Vervain
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications