Stats

Lifespan: Annual or biennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Bigbract Verbena is an annual or perennial herb that produces several hairy, spreading stems up to 30 centimeters long forming a low mat on the ground. Its inflorescence is a spike of flowers which is dense with long, pointed, leaflike bracts each up to 8 millimeters long.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Verbena
Species: Verbena bracteata