White Vervain

Verbena urticifolia

Pollinator Value

🐝 Specialist Bee Host: Calliopsis (Verbenapis) nebraskensis
S17 specialist on Verbena; range CT-NJ
❄️ Winter Food Source: Persistent nutlets on erect spikes provide winter seed for granivorous birds including Mourning Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow. Seeds remain accessible above snowpack on the stiff, upright inflorescence branches.
S57 S10

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5) and secure in Ontario (S5), but ranked Vulnerable (S3) in Quebec. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Quebec populations are near the northern edge of the species' range, which may account for the lower provincial rank.
S22 S26
Rarity Ranks: QC S3 – Vulnerable, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Inhabits open disturbed woodlands, woodland borders, thickets, floodplain forests, damp meadows along streams, and roadsides. Typically associated with moist to mesic fertile soils in semi-shaded habitats with a history of disturbance. In the Ottawa-Gatineau region, found in sugar maple understory and along forest edges on loamy to clay-loam soils.
S10 S7 S61 S48

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Living Mulch, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Living Mulch: S10 keyword match: forms? colon(?:y|ies) (supporting signal only)] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [MEDIUM]: S68 9 bee associations (threshold=3)]

Category: Gynecological Aid, Stimulant, Restorative
S28 Meskwaki Drug categories; S29 PFAF Restorative
Notes: Meskwaki used an infusion of the root for profuse menstruation and ate the root as a stimulant to revive patients and restore health. PFAF also notes a decoction of the root given to babies to break out hives, and a sweetened root decoction drunk as a flu remedy.
S28 S29

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: No edible uses are documented. PFAF assigns an edibility rating of 0/5. Moerman records only medicinal (Drug) uses for the Meskwaki, with no food category entries.
S29 S28