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Herb library · Herb · Verbena hastata

Blue vervain

A North American verbena counted among Native American aromatic medicinal plants. Only its essential oil has been analyzed; no study has tested it in people.

Traditional use

One of the aromatic plants of Native American medicine studied by researchers cataloging those plants' essential oils. On the Missouri River, Melvin Gilmore recorded (1919) that the Teton Dakota boiled the leaves into a drink for stomach ache, and that the Omaha steeped them simply as a tea.

What studies show

No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.

  • Insufficient

    Any use: no studies in people were found. A 2021 analysis found its essential oil rich in 1-octen-3-ol and palmitic acid, which says nothing about effects in people.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteNo safety information from studies in people was found. Do not confuse it with European vervain or the Caribbean plant called vervain; they are different species.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“Among the Teton Dakota the leaves were boiled to make a drink as a remedy for stomach ache. Among the Omaha the leaves were steeped merely to make a beverage like tea.”
Melvin Randolph Gilmore, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region (1919), p. 111. See the page of Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, p. 111 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, p. 111

Sources

  1. The Volatile Phytochemistry of Seven Native American Aromatic Medicinal Plants (2021) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.