Herb. No. 155 · Verbenaceae
Eastern and central North American wetland vervain.
Native · North America
Native Also grown
LegalGentleplant
Blue vervain
Verbena hastata
A candelabra of purple spikes in wet ground — a bitter American nervine of the old Eclectic physicians.
Blue vervain is an eastern North American wetland perennial. Traditional use is as a bitter nervine for tension that sits in the neck and the gut. The tea is bitter. Culpeper’s vervain was the European cousin. This plate is the American spike. Not a sedative hammer.
Flavor
Bitter, green, a little earth. Honey helps and does not hide it.
Parts used
Aerial parts in flower
Helpful
- A native wetland perennial
- A real bitter
Cautions
- Taste
- Wet feet or it sulks
- Not lemon verbena