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Verbena bonariensis
Also called Argentinian Vervain, Argentina Vervain, Argentine Vervain, South American Vervain, Cluster Flower Verbena, Cluster Flower Vervain, Purpletop
Purpletop vervain is a tall, slender-stemmed perennial from South America, often grown as an annual in cold areas. Its key to success is full sun and well-drained soil, and it is a magnet for butterflies and pollinators.
Verbena bonariensis, commonly known as the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In United States horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop (also used for the grass Tridens flavus) and South American vervain (which can mean any of the numerous species in the genus Verbena occurring on the continent). For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena", see below.
It is native to tropical South America where it grows throughout most of the warm regions, from Colombia and Brazil to Argentina and Chile.
V. bonariensis is cultivated as an ornamental plant for traditional and drought tolerant and 'pollinator-host' gardens and parks.
It is a perennial, hardy in USDA Zones 7-11. It can be grown as an annual in areas where it is not winter hardy and will bloom in the first year when grown from seed. Its long internodes give it a sparse appearance but allow it to intermingle and coexist with other plants. The flowers, which appear in mid- to late summer, are very attractive to butterflies, and provide nectar for native bees and many beneficial garden insects.
Glandularia aristigera · Verbena tenera · Bigbract verbena · Brazilian vervain · Verbena canadensis · Swamp verbena · Seashore vervain · Herb of the cross · Verbena peruviana · Tuberous vervain · Vervain
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Verbena bonariensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
