Narrow-leaved Vervain
Verbena simplex
- Plant Type
- Forb (Deciduous)
- Landscape Layer
- Herbaceous
- Sun
- ☀️ Full Sun
- Moisture
- 🏜️ Dry
- Soil
- Loam, Sand, Calcareous
- Bloom
- June, July, August
- Sociability
- S2 – Small groups
Pollinator Value
- 🐝 Specialist Bee Host
- Calliopsis nebraskensis
S17 Fowler specialist on Verbena genus; range CT-NJ, rated Rare
- ❄️ Winter Food Source
- Verbena seeds persist on erect spikes through winter and are consumed by at least 9 bird species. Mourning Dove (33% occurrence), Northern Bobwhite (28.5% occurrence), and California Quail (13.4% by volume) are the heaviest users. Wintering passerines including Common Redpoll, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, and American Pipit also forage on the small nutlets.
Ecology & Conservation
- Proximity Score
- 2
- Native Status
- ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
- Closest Direction
- SE
- CEC Eco-Regions
- 8 – Eastern Temperate Forests, 8.1 – Mixed Wood Plains, 8.1.7 – Northeastern Coastal Zone
- Rarity Notes
- Critically imperiled in Quebec (S1) with only 15 herbarium specimens, all from the Montreal region (islands in the St. Lawrence and Riviere des Prairies). Apparently secure in Ontario (S4) where it occurs on alvars and in open calcareous habitats. Globally secure (G5). Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC.
- Rarity Ranks
- QC S1 – Critically Imperiled, ON S4 – Apparently Secure
- Migration
- Stable
- Ecological Context
- Narrowleaf vervain occupies open, dry, often calcareous habitats including limestone alvars, prairie remnants, sandy fields, and thin-soiled rock pavements. In Michigan it is native on limestone pavements at Drummond Island and hillside prairies in Lenawee County. In the Ottawa region it occurs at several scattered sites including Marlborough Forest and Stony Swamp. The species is intolerant of shade and disappears when canopy closure occurs through natural succession.
Permaculture & Companion Planting
Edibility & Foraging ℹ
Never ingest a plant unless you have 100% certainty of its identity and have consulted multiple reputable sources. The information provided in the Localeaf Plant Database is compiled from secondary sources for educational and historical purposes only.
Click here for more info →
ℹ
Never ingest a plant unless you have 100% certainty of its identity and have consulted multiple reputable sources. The information provided in the Localeaf Plant Database is compiled from secondary sources for educational and historical purposes only.
Click here for more info →❌ Not Edible
Seed Source
- Localeaf