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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE VERVAIN FAMILY | |||||||||
| The vervains are herbs, shrubs or woody vines or tress. When herbaceous, the stems are commonly square in cross-section, a feature they share with the mint family. The leaves are opposite or whorled and may be simple to lobed or compound. The flowers are sometimes two-lipped and the petals are of various colours. There are usually four stamens fused to the petals. The fruit is single-seeded and fleshy or separating into two or four nutlets. | |||||||||
| SWAMP VERVAIN | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Verbena hastata var. hastata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Swamp vervain grows as tall as 230 cm. This perennial plant has an erect, simple or branched stem. The leaves are opposite and on long stalks. The margins are coarsely saw-toothed. The flowers and the fruits are overlapping in the thick, compact spikes. The bracts below each flower are small and are rarely as long as the sepals. The petals are blue-violet. The stamens are five and are attached to the petals. The fruits are reddish-brown nutlets. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Swamp vervain grows in moist semi-wooded or shrubby streamlet ravines. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Swamp vervain is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. This species is restricted southwestern Saskatchewan and populations are small. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY SWAMP VERVAIN | |||||||||
| * Are the flowers and fruits overlapping in thick,
compact spikes? * Are the bracts below the sepals shorter than the sepals? * Are the stems erect? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found swamp vervain! | |||||||||
