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White Vervain

Verbena urticifolia

Found in floodplain forests, moist and dry upland forests, disturbed habitats. 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
3–5 feet
Light
Full sun, Part shade, Shade
Soil moisture
Average to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to November

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 21 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 2

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 82 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (45)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

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
5BirdsRecorded eating Verbena in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. 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

Birds that eat Verbena 5

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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

Nettle Leaf Vervain

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources