DAY 177 (29 SEPTEMBER) – Argentine vervain (Verbena bonariensis) (Farnham)
Strange what close-up images can do. This lovely long-limbed vervain drapes itself elegantly against my friend’s whitewashed cottage wall. I like the blend of live and dried flower heads. But when viewed through the powerful lens of my iPhone, it is suddenly stubby.
As the name suggests it’s native to parts of South America. Bonariensis means from Buenos Aires. Obvious when you know. And verbena is Latin for ‘sacred bough’: the leafy twigs were carried by priests, used in wreaths and druidic rituals, and for medicine.
