Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Purple ), 0 by htop

htop wrote:
Dakota Mock Vervain, Great Plains Verbena, Prairie Vebena, Moradilla (Glandularia bipinnatifida), Verbenaceae Family, native, annual/perennial, blooms (may be pinkish or purple depending upon the subspecies), February through September (can bloom year round)

This is the lowing growing native verbena that forms a great groundcover. The Spanish name, Moradilla, is derived from morado (purple) and means “little purple one”. The up to 24 inch long stems are square and usually partly reclining. They may root at the at the lower nodes. The 1 - 2. 5 inch, opposte, hairy leaves are simple but highly dissected with sunken veins and curled under leaf edges. It grows natively in various soils; but prefers calcareous or sandy soil in sunny locations in prairies, plains, brushlands and fields and along roadsides and dry streambanks. It can form large mat-like colonies. The flowers are especially rich in nectar and attract many kinds of butterflies and other insects. Native Indians used the plant to produce a beautiful die. It can be used in cultivated beds and is especially nice in rock gardens. Be sure not to overwater.

Texas distribution:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Texas&statefip...

For more unformation, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62648/index.html