Flower profile

Bigbract verbena

Verbena bracteata

Bigbract verbena (Verbena bracteata) is a flowering plant in the Verbenaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly June–September across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Bigbract verbena is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 4 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in June–September.

45states where USDA records it

4Bloomipedia state lists include it

7,868U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Quick look

Verbena bracteata is a species of verbena known by the common names bracted vervain, bigbract verbena, prostrate vervain, and carpet vervain. It is native to North America where it is widespread, occurring throughout the continent except for northern Canada and southern Mexico. It occurs in many types of habitat, especially disturbed areas. It typically blooms between the months of May and October.
From Wikipedia's article Verbena bracteata, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Verbenaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual, biennial, perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 45 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. ^NatureServe
In Colorado, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–September. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,671 research-grade sightings of it in Colorado, ranking #96 among the 160 flowers on our Colorado list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 247 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #58 among the 147 flowers on our Nebraska list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 180 research-grade sightings of it in South Dakota, ranking #81 among the 126 flowers on our South Dakota list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (768 records)

Bloom time in the 4 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Colorado	Native	June–September	1,671
Nebraska	Native	few records (28)	247
South Dakota	Native	few records (4)	180
North Dakota	Native	few records (18)	148

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Colorado: No list Colorado has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Colorado ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in Colorado.
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
South Dakota: No list South Dakota's endangered and threatened list (ARSD 41:10:02) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's South Dakota ranks for plants. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in South Dakota.
North Dakota: No list North Dakota has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's North Dakota ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in North Dakota.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records bigbract verbena in 45 states.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Colorado counties with USDA records: Adams, Alamosa, Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Boulder, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Delta, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Garfield, Gilpin, Gunnison, Huerfano, Jefferson, Kiowa, Kit Carson, La Plata, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Saguache, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, Yuma.

Nebraska counties with USDA records: Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Boone, Box Butte, Brown, Buffalo, Cass, Cedar, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dodge, Douglas, Dundy, Franklin, Furnas, Garden, Gosper, Hall, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Hooker, Howard, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, McPherson, Nemaha, Otoe, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley, Washington, Webster, Wheeler.

South Dakota counties with USDA records: Brule, Butte, Charles Mix, Clay, Codington, Corson, Custer, Dewey, Fall River, Gregory, Haakon, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Jackson, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lyman, Marshall, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Turner, Union, Walworth, Yankton.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native.

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Verbena bracteosa, Verbena imbricata.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 1135 counties across 42 states; the most are in Kansas (105), Illinois (82), Missouri (75).

Other Verbena on Bloomipedia (7): Blue vervain, White vervain, Hoary vervain, Texas vervain, Brazilian vervain, Slender vervain, MacDougal verbena.

More from the Verbenaceae family (14 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Dakota mock vervain, Lantana, Rose vervain, Common lantana, Rattail, Southwestern mock vervain, Fiddlewood.

More Colorado flowers

Great mullein

Verbascum thapsus

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in CO: July–October

Blue columbine

Aquilegia coerulea

★ CO state flowerNative

🌼 Blooms in CO: June–August

Showy milkweed

Asclepias speciosa

Native

🌼 Blooms in CO: June–July

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile VEBR.
iNaturalist, Verbena bracteata: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Verbena bracteata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Colorado: Colorado noxious weed lists A, B and C (8 CCR 1206-2, eff. May 15, 2025).
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
South Dakota: South Dakota statewide noxious weeds (ARSD 12:62:03:01.06).
North Dakota: North Dakota state noxious weeds (N.D. Admin. Code 7-06-01-02), as listed by the ND Department of Agriculture.
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Verbena bracteata (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Darius Regnier via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.