{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Speciesbox |image = Verbena simplex.jpg |status = G5 |status_system = TNC |genus = Verbena |species = simplex |authority = Lehm. |synonyms = Verbena angustifolia Michx.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=vesi|title= Plants Profile for Verbena simplex (narrowleaf vervain) |website= plants.usda.gov |access-date= 2 February 2018 |author=<!--Not stated-->}}</ref>}}
'''''Verbena simplex''''' is a species of flowering plant in the vervain family, ''Verbenaceae''.<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:865474-1 |title= Verbena simplex Lehm. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=June 18, 2025}}</ref><ref name=COL>{{cite web |url= https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/99TBQ |title= Verbena simplex Lehm. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |website=Catalogue of Life |publisher=Species 2000 |access-date=June 18, 2025}}</ref> It is commonly known as '''narrowleaf vervain''', and is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is native to central and eastern North America where it is found in open, dry, habitats on calcareous soil. It produces lavender flowers in the summer.
==Description== ''Verbena simplex'' is a perennial wildflower that grows as erect stems, branching from the base of the plant and unbranched or sparingly branched above, to a height of {{convert |0.8-2.5|ft|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}}. Pairs of opposite, narrow leaves are spaced along the stems, which are glabrous or short-pubescent. The leaves measure {{convert |1.25-4|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} long and less than {{convert |0.5|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on|}} across.<ref name="IL">{{cite web |title=Narrow-Leaved Vervain (Verbena simplex) |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/nl_vervain.htm |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=illinoiswildflowers.info}}</ref> The leaves are sessile or they may have a winged petiole. They are unlobed and finely toothed, narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate or linear.<ref name="MP"/>
The inflorescence is a solitary flowering spike, measuring {{convert |4-25|cm|in|1|abbr=on|}} long and {{convert |5-8|cm|in|1|abbr=on|}} in diameter, at the end of the stem. The 5-lobed flowers are dark lavender or purple to white or bluish, {{convert |4-6|mm|in|1|abbr=on|}} long, and shaped like a trumpet.<ref name="MP"/>
==Distribution and habitat== ''V. simplex'' is native in the United States from Nebraska to the west, Texas and Florida to the south, Massachusetts to the east and the Canadian border to the north. In Canada, it is native in Ontario and Quebec.<ref name="natureserve">{{cite web |date=1994 |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.128495/Verbena_simplex |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref> It is tolerant of disturbance, and is often seen in pastures and roadsides with sparse vegetation.<ref name="MP">{{cite web |title=Verbena simplex page |url=http://www.missouriplants.com/Verbena_simplex_page.html |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=missouriplants.com}}</ref>
==Conservation status== It is listed as endangered in Massachusetts<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern species {{!}} Mass.gov |url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/list-of-endangered-threatened-and-special-concern-species#plants |website=www.mass.gov |language=en}}</ref> and New Jersey,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile?symbol=vesi|title= Plants Profile for Verbena simplex (narrowleaf vervain) |website= plants.usda.gov |access-date= 2 February 2018 |author=<!--Not stated-->}}</ref> and as a species of special concern in Connecticut,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151023162806/http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ETS15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"]. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 1 February 2018. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)</ref> Minnesota,<ref name="MN">{{cite web |title=Verbena simplex (Narrow-leaved Vervain): Minnesota Wildflowers |url=https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/narrow-leaved-vervain |website=www.minnesotawildflowers.info |language=en}}</ref> and Wisconsin.
==Ecology== The flowers bloom June through August<ref name="MN"/> and are attractive to bees, skippers and probably butterflies.<ref name="IL"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q14980224}}
simplex Category:Flora of Eastern Canada Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States Category:Flora of the North-Central United States Category:Flora of Texas Category:Taxa named by Johann Georg Christian Lehmann