Verbena bracteata.John Hilty.www.illinoiswildflowerrs.info (Accessed 4/2014).

Verbena bracteata is an annual or perennial herb prostrate  to ascending, 10-50 cm long, all parts hairy, usually branched. 

Leaves opposite, stalk short, blade 1-6 cm long, usually 3-lobed, lateral lobes small, entire, central lobe larger, coarsely toothed. 

Flowers blue to purple, to 0.3 cm wide, tubular, bilaterally symmetrical, calyx to 0.4 cm long; inflorescence spikes to 1.5 cm long, bracts crowded, densely hairy, to 1.5 cm long, leaf-like near base. 

Fruit dry nutlets, about 0.2 cm long. 

Wetland status: UPL. 

Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent. 

Origin: Probably native west of NYS but sometimes listed as native to this area (USDA, NRCS 2010). 

Habitat: Open, dry soil, vacant lots.