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Narrowleaf Vervain

Verbena simplex

Found in glades, prairies, woodlands, forests, rock outcrops, and roadsides, over limestone or mafic rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

77
Strong

Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
8–24 inches
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to somewhat dry
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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to September

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 7 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 5

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

Prairies and grasslands

Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020
Barrens grassland after a prescribed fire. Shown: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Barrens native plants returning after prescribed fire, September 2020, NPS Photo / Rick Olson, September 2020. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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
  • Papaipema nepheleptenaTurtlehead Borer
  • Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
Show all 12
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Xenotemna pallorana
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

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
Also known as

Narrow Leaf Vervain

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS4
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources