:''This is about the ''Verbena bonariensis'' described by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

. See also

below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...

for a common misapplication of this taxon.'' ''Verbena bonariensis'', the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

cultivated as a flowering annual or

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop (also used for the grass ''

Tridens flavus ''Tridens flavus'', the purpletop tridens, red top, or greasegrass, is a large, robust perennial bunchgrass native to eastern North America. It widespread throughout its range and is most often found in man-made habitats, such as hay meadows an ...

'') and South American vervain (which can mean any of the numerous

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

'' occurring in that continent). For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see

. It is

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

South America where it grows throughout most of the warm regions, from Colombia and Brazil to Argentina and Chile.

Description

''Verbena bonariensis'' is a tall and slender-stemmed perennial. It can grow to 6 ft (180 cm) tall and can spread to 3 ft (90 cm) wide. At maturity, it will develop a woody base. Fragrant lavender to rose-purple flowers are in tight clusters located on terminal and axillary stems, blooming from mid-summer until fall frost. The stem is square with very long internodes. Leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate with a toothed margin and grow up to 4 in (10 cm) long.

Etymology

''Verbena'' is derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, meaning ‘sacred bough’, in reference to the leafy twigs of vervaine (''

Verbena officinalis ''Verbena officinalis'', the common vervain or common verbena, is a perennial herb native to Europe. It grows up to 70 cm high, with an upright habitus. The lobed leaves are toothed, and the delicate spikes hold clusters of two-lipped mau ...

'') which were historically carried by priests, used in wreaths for druidic rituals, and for medicine. Named by Virgil and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

. The common name, vervaine, comes from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

name, ‘ferfain’.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 74, 399 Its

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''bonariensis'' means ‘from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

’. ‘Buenos’ means ‘good’ and ‘aires’ means ‘air’ (‘good air’).

Taxonomy and systematics

''Verbena bonariensis'' is a member of the South American vervains, which are

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

and have more than 14

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

s. Among these, it is part of a lineage which might also include '' Verbena intermedia'' and seems well distant from '' Verbena litoralis'' or ''

Verbena montevidensis ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

'' for example. Sometimes, the name ''

Verbena brasiliensis ''Verbena brasiliensis'', the Brazilian verbena or Brazilian vervain, is a flowering plant species from the vervain family (Verbenaceae). It is native to parts of South America, namely Brazil, but has spread its range in recent times and has occa ...

'', Brazilian verbena or Brazilian vervain, is found for this species. However, this is the result of a mix-up with ''V. brasiliensis'', the "true" Brazilian verbena, which has been erroneously referred to as ''V. bonariaensis'' by several botanists.

Subspecies

There are two named

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: * ''Verbena bonariensis'' subsp. ''bonariensis'' L. * ''Verbena bonariensis'' subsp. ''conglomerata'' Briq.

Cultivation

''V. bonariensis'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

for traditional and

drought tolerant Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detox ...

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. This species grows best in a well-drained soil. It prefers full sun to partial shade and needs regular moisture. It has a reputation of rarely being attacked by insect pests, but may be susceptible to

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, as ...

. ''V. bonariensis'' is commonly grown from seed which germinates readily without pre-treatment, but can also be propagated from herbaceous stem cuttings. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Invasive species

''V. bonariensis'' self-seeds readily. This ability has raised concerns that it may become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

and

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

in favorable

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. It has naturalized in a number of southern United States. Presently, the plant is on the

watchlist for

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, naturalized in tropical and southern Africa, temperate Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the United States (including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

), the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...

and the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

. According to

Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk The Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR) is a government-funded project created to provide technology, methods, and information to decision-makers, resource managers, and the general public to help support effective science-based management ...

, it is considered a weed in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and other

South Pacific islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

.Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk: ''V. bonariensis''
/ref>

Footnotes

References

*Bailey, L.H. (1951): ''Verbena bonariensis''. In: Manual of Cultivated Plants: 840.

Macmillan Publishing Company Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

. * * * *

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

(USDA) 008bbr>USDA Plants Profile: ''Verbena bonariensis''
Retrieved 2008-AUG-07. *Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (WSNWCB) (2007)

Version of 2007-MAR-31. Retrieved 2008-AUG-07. *Yuan, Yao-Wu & Olmstead, Richard G. (2008): A species-level phylogenetic study of the ''Verbena'' complex (Verbenaceae) indicates two independent intergeneric chloroplast transfers. ''

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by E.A. Zimmer. Indexing The journal is indexed in: *EMBiology *Journal Citation Reports *Scopus ...

'' 48(1): 23–33.

External links

Missouri Botanical Garden Kemper Center for Home Gardening - ''Verbena bonariensis'' (Purpletop)''Verbena bonariensis'' - Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2047281 bonariensis Flora of South America Flora of Argentina Flora of Brazil Flora of Chile Flora of Colombia Flora naturalised in Australia Butterfly food plants Garden plants of South America Drought-tolerant plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus