{Hi folks!! Here’s an excerpt from Haven Making: August…}
✦ Blue Vervain ✦
In Latin: Verbena hastata
Sometimes there is a plant that just grabs your attention and doesn’t let go, Blue Vervain is like that for me. I first began growing her in the backyard garden at the Red House. She’s a perennial and I interspersed three lovely plants with Mullein and Bee Balm. It took two-to-three years for her to bloom, but once that occurred, I was enchanted.
“Etymology: Verbena hastata comes from the Latin word verbena meaning “sacred” or “bough.” In classical Latin, verbēna refers to leafy branches or twigs used in religious ceremonies or for medicinal purposes. Hastata comes from the Latin word hastatus which means spear-shaped or “armed with spears” typically referring to a leaf that is triangular with the corners laterally protruding.” https://www.washcoll.edu/learn-by-doing/lifelong-learning/plants/verbenaceae/verbena-hastata.php
Its purple-blue hue is reminiscent of periwinkle’s glow come dusk. This beauty pairs well with Artemisia absinthium or Salvia apiana. Wasn’t difficult to start from seed, and once seedlings are established, they are quite hardy. I brought a Blue Vervain plant with me when we uprooted from Alaska to Idaho. That original seedling has lived nearly 10 years now! (Not all perennials live forever. Some are short lived at 3 or so years, and some, like Peonies, can be upwards of 50+.)
It was during a visit to Wisconsin where I finally met Blue Vervain in the wild. That’s what I love about growing native medicinal plants – it makes it that much easier to identify them when in their natural environment! I saw two plants that day. Both were growing in open, grassy areas with damp-ish feet.
The Blue Vervain I have growing next to the garden shed in Idaho is very expressive in her excessive leaf droop when hot and thirsty. This plant prefers damp soil, and perhaps morning sun rather than afternoon sun in hot summer regions. Further north, afternoon sun is just fine. Partial shade to full sun depending on moisture level of the soil. Another common name is Swamp Vervain—that’s where the photo above was snapped, at a swamp’s edge.
I had decided to grow Blue Vervain for its affinity in helping sooth a stressed-out nervous system. It was to become an ally in my quest to quit drinking. Blue Vervain loosens neck tension specifically. Whenever one is feeling tense in the neck, that constriction can cause headaches, and further pain throughout the body. What’s nice about Blue Vervain is the relaxant quality it holds. I enjoy the relaxation simply standing next to, and paying attention to, Blue Vervain when she’s in full bloom. There’s a subtle, yet profound energy field that emanates from this one.
A bit after writing the first draft of this section, I was watering some Blue Vervain seedlings I’d started in 2023. One was in fine flower. As I watered and watched this beauty, the word “Dragon” suddenly popped up. There was this Dragon essence. Now, I’m not super into dragons, sure they intrigue me, but it’s not something I think about on the daily, or even once a month. But clear as day, that’s what came through. About 45 minutes later, as I came back through on my watering round, my daughter and her friend were chatting in the backyard. As I watered a Plum tree, I looked back at that same Blue Vervain plant and at that exact moment, I overheard my daughters friend say: “Dragon-fly”!!….riddle me that!
Interesting bit of manifestation I do think. Also, perhaps a subconscious reckoning of the Chinese name for Vervain (different plant!) as “dragon-teeth grass,” which I had forgotten about until going through this for final edits…another example of how Plants communicate with us in this earth-realm.
Verbena hastata, Blue Vervain, is the variety I’m familiar with and am speaking about here. I like Kiva Rose’s take on Blue Vervain in A Weedwife’s Remedy:
“[Blue] Vervain’s medicine tends to be very much about relaxing tension so that a fragmented person can become whole again, and in the same way, allows them to see through unclouded eyes what their path and perspective really is, usually after a time of feeling blinded and short-changed by their anxiety, buried fear and sharp-edged hypercriticism. It’s not just a relaxant, it’s a touch-stone, a mender of broken edges and sometimes, a great giver of dreams….It promotes an overall sense of well-being and is well combined with many other “happy” herbs like Motherwort, Linden, St. John’s Wort or Lavender.” Pg. 120
I like to keep a bottle of Blue Vervain tincture at my bedside and add 1-10 drops, usually 5, (recommended dosage of fresh plant tincture, this is a low-dose botanical) to my nighttime tea. Blue Vervain tincture helps me to relax, and assists the liver. Again, Kiva: “[Blue] Vervain very specifically tonifies and moves liver energy, while also calming and relaxing the liver.”
Rose, Skullcap, Tulsi, Milky Oats, Chamomile and Damiana combine well with this plant in formulas. If not ingesting any alcohol, you can make a hot tea with 1 tsp. dried herb or 2 tsp. fresh. Blue Vervain is strongly bitter and acrid. Honey helps, but be forewarned…you may want to add some other, better tasting herbs to the blend.
Of note, Blue Vervain can be nauseating when dosed too high. Again, this is a low dose botanical which means small amounts have a lot of “oomph.”
In Indian Herbology of North America, Alma Hutchins writes that Blue Vervain was known as Simpler’s Joy—I thought that was sweet. She continues:
“Uses: [Blue] Vervain expels worms and is a capable, capital agent for invoking all diseases of the spleen and liver. If given in intermittent fever in a warm infusion or powder, the results are considerable. In all cases of cold and obstinate menstruation it is a most complete and advantageous sudorific [causing or producing sweat].
When the circulation of the blood is weak and languid, it will increase and restore it to its proper operation. The infusion, taken cold, forms a good tonic in cases of constitutional debility and during convalescence from acute diseases. Its value has been found to be apparent in scrofula visceral obstructions, stones, gravel, etc., but its virtues are more wonderful still in the effect they produce upon epilepsy, or falling sickness and fits.” Pg. 59
From the USDA Blue Vervain Fact Sheet: “Warning: Blue vervain can interfere with blood pressure medication and hormone therapy. Large doses will induce vomiting and diarrhea.”
I would imagine the interference with medications would be with larger doses of Blue Vervain, but this statement gives no source and I haven’t read this elsewhere as of yet, regarding the medication issue, so something to consider, but not necessarily fear. Every source I’ve read has mentioned that too much will cause an upset stomach, either vomiting or diarrhea. Using just a few drops per day, in my humble opinion, is not enough to warrant such a warning. But do your due diligence to see if this plant is right for you to consume.
Perhaps it’s just one you grow to adore in the garden…
Vervain, Verbena officinalis, is an herb across the pond in the Old World. Conversely, V. hastata, Blue Vervain is a New World plant. You’ll often see mention of the ancient ways of Blue Vervain, but I think many of those are actually referring to Vervain. The two are related, kind of like cousins.
About Vervain (V. officinalis) “It is curious that such an unassuming plant as vervain should have become sacred to so many cultures. In Egypt, for example, vervain was believed to have originated from the tears of Isis, and Greek priests wore its root with their vestments. Being sacred to Venus, vervain was used in love potions. The Chinese names for this herb, “dragon-teeth grass” and “iron vervain,” suggest hidden powers.
Vervain was the Roman word for altar plants used for spiritual purification, and the Druids, too, washed their altars with a flower infusion and used vervain in their lustral water for visions. It was a herb of prophecy for the magi, the mystic sages of Persia. To the Anglo-Saxons vervain was a powerful protector and part of the Holy Salve against demons of disease.” (Lesley Bremness in The Complete Book of Herbs, pg. 146)
I have noticed several websites and blogs and herbal commerce sites that haven’t checked their sources properly…Jesus’ wounds would not have been treated with Blue Vervain (a North American growing plant), but with Vervain, an Old-World growing plant. Vervain was used in the Druids magical ways, not Blue Vervain… Always important to check your sources if reading online websites…there’s a lot of copy and paste going on there. It doesn’t help that some call Blue Vervain, Vervain. Fortunately, these plants are quite similar. But it is rather vexing to see folks writing (and not sharing their sources) about Plants like this when their information is incorrect. I recently posed this conundrum in a facebook group led by Henrietta Kress and didn’t receive a definitive answer, so if you’re thinking I am mistaken, please enlighten me!
7song shares this in his blog:
“There are many medicinal similarities between V. officinalis and V. hastata, as they share similar uses concerning anxiety, agitation and tension. It is used as a general nervine for anxiety, and a long-term tonic for people who hold onto ideals or thoughts too strongly, making any sort of change difficult. Like Blue vervain, it can help quiet the mind especially if taken regularly.
European vervain is also used for PMS and menopausal symptoms including headaches, irritability and mood swings. Another use is for people who have disturbed sleep and to help them relax into a more peaceful sleep…. Blue vervain is one of my favorite plants for the emotional rigors of the modern world: The incessant input of information and the quick responses that are expected of us.
Plants and other medicines are only a part of the way we can cool our thoughts and regain our emotional composure. There are numerous other techniques such as taking walks and allowing one’s mind to drift into their surroundings. Having intimate conversations with trusted friends. Playing. Hot baths with a good book. I think each of us has our own emotional release valves and these along with a good bitter cup of Blue vervain, Tulsi, Damiana with a little Rose honey can make the challenges we face more bearable.” (https://7song.com/blue-vervain-verbena-hastata-monograph-medicinal-uses-preparations-and-botanical-notes/)
Blue Vervain and Vervain lend themselves well to a healing salve with added extra spiritual protection. Blue Vervain is a favorite of mine to grow, use and admire. A medicinal herb of long repute, it shines as a stunning perennial in the flower/pollinator garden as well. The Cherokee Indians used Blue Vervain and the plant was known and used by many tribes where uses include: “… internally to treat depression, fevers, coughs, cramps, jaundice, and headaches. Externally, it is used for acne, ulcers, and cuts.” (https://www.westernnativeseed.com/plant%20guides/verhaspg.pdf)
I have found Blue Vervain is a hardy perennial, and a slow grower. She doesn’t seem to throw seeds readily, so it is an easy one to care-keep in the garden. The root has also been used but I’ve only worked with the flowers/leaves. Apparently, the seeds can be dried, powdered and used as a flour. Pretty bitter though, so usually the seeds were soaked first. I haven’t tried this application yet. :)
Hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about a beautiful Plant friend!
