The Vervains
What are they?
The vervains are a largely tropical family with usually purple or white (sometimes red) flowers - indeed, there can be few hotels in warmer climes that don't have a member of this family in their gardens. In the Neotropics, the flowers are much-loved by hummingbirds. In temperate regions, the native species tend to be smaller-flowered and less showy, but still attractive to insects. Included here for convenience are several woody shrubs that have at times been considered to be part of this family but which are currently included in other families. They are kept here to aid the identification process.
Where are they found?
Native species around Cape May are found in generally damp and often disturbed ground. As a number of species are grown for ornament, it is perhaps not surprising that they also sometimes appear in the wider countryside as adventives of roadsides and waste places.
Identification
This is a small group of plants in a local context and the species known to occur around Cape May can be separated by a combination of flower and leaf details.
Nettle-leaved Vervain Verbena urticifolia
(White Vervain) A not uncommon species of shady or semi-shaded woodland, field edges, roadsides and waste places. Flowers June to September. A somewhat weedy looking plant which, when not in flower, may be mistaken for a member of the nettle family. The white flowers are tiny and easily overlooked.
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Blue Vervain Verbena hastata
A showy and attractive species of water margins, wet banks and other damp areas. Flowers June to September. Despite the name, this species has purple flowers.
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Large-bracted Vervain Verbena bracteata
There are no published records of this species for Cape May County and few for New Jersey as a whole, but a colony was found along New England Road, Lower Township in 2010, with further sites located in 2012. Probably not native ths far north, but may occur as an occasional introduction. Flowers June to September. A small and unobtrusive species which forms low, spreading mats.
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Purpletop Vervain Verbena bonariensis
Introduced from South America. A popular garden plant as it readily attracts butterflies to nectar at its flowers. Generally not considered hardy in the Cape May region, but a run of mild winters could see plants becoming established in urban gardens and waste places. Self-sown seedlings have been discovered at locations south of Cape May Canal. Flowers Late June into Fall.
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Garden Verbena Glandularia x hybrida
A hybrid plant of garden origin that occasionally appears as a garden throwout or adventive in urban areas. Flowers Late June into Fall. Flowers may be almost any shade of white, pink, purple, lilac, red, peach or similar - occasionally two-colored.
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Common Butterfly-bush Buddleja davidii
Native of China. A common yard shrub and much favored for its ability to attract butterflies in great numbers to its nectar-rich flowers. Flowers July to October. A strongly invasive alien in some parts of the world (particularly temperate Europe) but so far does not appear to be so in Cape May.
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Orange Butterfly-bush Buddleja x weyeriana
A plant of garden origin, produced by crossing the Common Butterfly-bush with the Orange-ball Tree (Buddleja globosa). Occasionally found as a garden throwout or escape from cultivation. Flowers July to October. Most plants are more or less sterile but a few seeds do get set by this plant.
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Chaste-tree Vitex agnus-castus
Native of the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. A common yard shrub around Cape May, especially at Cape May Point and occasionally found as a small seedling in urban environments, or as a larger shrub on sites of abandoned gardens. Flowers late summer.
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old specimen |
Rose Glorybower Clerodendrum bungei
This species is notified as an alien invasive in the southern Gulf states, but until now has not been reported further north than South Carolina. Currently known from a small but slowly increasing colony in wet woodland at Villas though cold winters may well prevent it becoming a pest problem. It should be looked for elsewhere. Flowers late summer. Leaves have a purple cast to them and young growths are glandular hairy. Recent taxonomic work suggests that the Clerodendrums belong in the mint family (Lamiaceae), but this species is kept here with the vervains for identification purposes as - to most people - it more closely resembles vervains than it does other members of the mint family at a casual glance.
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Chinese Beautyberry Callicarpa dichotoma
(Purple Beautyberry) Introduced from Asia and a popular garden shrub, so may occur here and there where birds have spread the berries; found at Cox Hall Creek WMA in dry, open woodland in 2011. Flowers June to July. Produces a mass of vivid purple berries which are not particularly favored by birds, making it a popular garden plant as the berries last well into winter. This species is told from other, similar species grown in gardens by the flowering shoots which emerge from the main stem and not from the leaf axils. Recent taxonomic work suggests that the beautyberries belong in the mint family (Lamiaceae), but it is kept here with the vervains for identification purposes as - to most people - it more closely resembles vervains than it does other members of the mint family at a casual glance.
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little above the leaf axils |
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