Verbena officinalis L.
subsp. africana R. Fern. & Verdc.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Borrowdale Common, Harare.

Photo: Bart Wursten
Goldenstairs Road, Thornpark Estate

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Synonyms:	Verbena officinalis L. var. natalensis Krauss
Common names:
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Erect perennial, rarely annual herb, 60-150 cm tall. Leaves up to 10 × 8 cm, ovate in outline, deeply pinnatifidly lobed, roughly hairy above, more softly hairy below; margin of the ultimate segments dentate. Leaves higher up the stems often linear lanceolate; margin sparsely toothed or subentire. Flowers in numerous terminal spikes, elongating up to 26 cm, most parts glandular hairy. Corolla lilac, mauve, magenta, purple, violet or blue, hairless. Fruits c. 2 mm long, 3-4-striate, minutely tuberculate.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	officinalis: used in medicine.
Habitat:	Occurring in damp places in wooded grassland, vlei margins, roadsides and as a weed of old cultivation.
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	From Ethiopia on the eastern side of tropical Africa to South Africa as far as KwaZulu-Natal. Possibly also elsewhere in Africa. Also in Nepal and Taiwan.
Zimbabwe distribution:	N,W,C,E
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Fernandes, R. (2005). Verbenaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(7) Pages 13 - 15. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 82. Maroyi, A. (2006). Preliminary checklist of introduced and naturalized plants in Zimbabwe. Kirkia 18(2) Page 246.

Other sources of information about Verbena officinalis subsp. africana:

Our websites:

Flora of Zambia: Verbena officinalis subsp. africana

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Verbena officinalis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Verbena officinalis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Verbena officinalis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Verbena officinalis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Verbena officinalis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Verbena officinalis
JSTOR Plant Science: Verbena officinalis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Verbena officinalis
Plants of the World Online: Verbena officinalis
Tropicos: Verbena officinalis
Wikipedia: Verbena officinalis