WOOLLY VERBENA--Verbena stricta
Description:  Woolly verbena is a perennial forb with a thickened rootstock producing stout, leafy, and coarsely hairy stems, 1 to 4+ feet tall.  Leaves tend to be oval-shaped but pointed at the tip, sharply toothed, covered with short, soft, white hairs, and prominently veined on the underside.  One to several stout spikes produce numerous, small, lavender, occasionally blue, or rarely white flowers which appear from June through September.
Distribution, habitat:  This drought resistant native is present from the Great Plains states eastward to Ontario and has been introduced elsewhere.  It is common in South Dakota and south but less common northward, occurring on rangeland and pastures statewide.
Comments:  Woolly verbena, tall or hoary vervain (or verbena), has virtually no forage value, probably because of coarse leaves and bitter taste.  It can become abundant, sometimes forming dense stands in range and pastures, often a sign of grazing abuse or drought.  It is particularly common on light- and medium-textured soils.  Lack of use and high drought resistance enhance its spread.  Although this native is an undesirable forage, its late-summer flowers are an impressive sight.  Small mammals and prairie chickens feed on its small nutlets.  Omaha made a beverage tea from the leaves; Lakota made a tea for stomachache.  Lakota also roasted the nutlets and ground them into meal.
	Picture and information can be found on pages 236 and 237 of Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson.  Published in 1999 by South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.