Common Names and Taxonomy
It is also known as Simpler's Joy or Holy Herb, or more ambiguously as "mosquito plant" or "wild hyssop". The common name "Blue Vervain" is also sometimes used, but properly refers to V. hastata. And of course, being the only member of its genus in much of its range, it is also simply known as "the vervain" locally.
The common names of V. officinalis in many Central and Eastern Europes languages often associate it with iron, for example:
- Echtes Eisenkraut (German: "true ironherb")
- IJzerhard (Dutch: "iron-hard")
- Læge-Jernurt (Danish: "medical ironwort")
- Železník lekársky (Slovak: ("medical ironherb")
- Rohtorautayrtti (Finnish: "medical ironherb")
Common Vervain was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus his 1753 Species Plantarum. The scientific name references the Ancient Roman term verbena, used for any sacrificial herb considered very powerful (as described e.g. by Pliny the Elder). Officinalis, meanwhile, is Latin for "used in medicine or herbalism".
Read more about this topic: Verbena Officinalis
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