Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) is a native, perennial wildflower that grows from 2 to 5 feet tall. It prefers moist conditions and full to partial sun. In late summer blue vervain produces very attractive purplish-blue flowers blooming from bottom to top along its stems. The spent blooms mature into reddish-brown nutlets. Blue vervain spreads through rhizomes, horizontal roots that produce new plants.

Northern Cardinals, Swamp Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos eat the seeds. Cottontail rabbits eat the foliage, however, most mammals avoid its bitter taste. It is a larval host plant for the common buckeye butterfly. Bumblebees and specialized bees are pollinators that use blue vermin.