Plant Image
Flower spike


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Verbena neomexicana - hillside vervain, New Mexico verbena

Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Verbenaceae


   
 
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Leaves
Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant
Deaver Herbarium (Northern Arizona University): Attribution-Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial   Similar Species: Verbena pinetorum
General Desc: Taprooted plant; deeply lobed leaves are spaced apart on stiff ridged stems, covered with short coarse hairs. Ridged flower stalks are densely flowered spikes of slender white to light purple tubular flowers. Flower face <1/8 inch across.
Identification notes: Mostly erect with opposite, deeply incised leaves; long, slender, leafless spikes of white to light purple flowers; small narrow bracts below each flower and fruit. Stems covered with short, stiff hairs; V. pinetorum is sparsely hairy.
Height: Up to 20 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found in foothills and canyons, along railroads, on west and northwest facing slopes on limestone cliffs and talus (loose rock fragments) as well as riparian areas.
Plant Communities: Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 2000 - 6000 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: White to light purple     Shape: Irregular in elongated clusters     Tubular: Y     Flowering Period: Mar - Oct
Description: A dense series of small, white to light purple flowers in 1 to 3 slender spikes per stem; flowers wrapped by a egg-shaped to triangular bract. Flowers have 2-lobed upper lips, 3-lobed lower lips, and hairy, white throats.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Pinnatifid     Leaf Margin: Toothed     Leaf Attachment: Opposite     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: Leaves and stems     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Lower leaves early-withering; stem leaves stemless, not closely spaced, blades deeply toothed (incised-dentate or pinnatifid), narrowly egg-shaped in outline, 3/4 to 2 inches long, surfaces covered with short, coarse hairs, some with gland tips.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Nutlet
Fruit Notes: Group of 4 densely hairy nutlets that are white and rough on their inner surface.


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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