Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, South Africa

Common name: stiff verbana

Family: Verbenaceae (Verbena)

Synonym: Verbena venosa

Distribution: Native to Brazil and Argentina

Habitat: Grassland

National red list: Not Evaluated

Black list: Listed NEMBA Category 2 Invasive - May only be grown with a permit.

Life form: Herbaceous perennial

Comments: V. rigida is an herbaceous perennial planted as a fast spreading groundcover (Royal Horticultural Society, 2015) and is listed as weedy in many countries. It is principally found in disturbed areas but can spread into grasslands and forests and is a weed of cotton fields. However, there is little information on the species impact in agricultural or natural ecosystems. It spreads via rhizomes and seeds, but the extent of dispersal by seed and whether the plant has a seedbank is unknown.