Veined verbena

Verbena rigida

Perennial herb 0.2–0.4 (-1) m high; branches erect or ascending from a creeping rhizome, scabrid.

Leaves sessile, rigid, oblong-ovate or narrowly obovate, 4–12 cm long, 1–4 cm wide, glabrous; base subcordate and partly clasping branch; margin coarsely and sharply serrate, often slightly revolute; apex acuminate.

Inflorescence a lax terminal corymb with long branches ending in a dense spike; bracts conspicuously longer than calyx. Calyx 5-toothed, 4–6 mm long. Corolla reddish purple, pale lilac or blue-violet, 2–3 times as long as calyx; tube 8–10 mm long.

Mericarps c. 2 mm long.