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Plantaginaceae
Culver's Root
Veronicastrum virginicum
Quiet strength and verticality.
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Genus
- Veronicastrum
- Native to
- eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Mid Summer
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 1.2–2 m
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, fertile
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 3–8
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Its flower spikes branch like a candelabra — botanists describe it as 'menorah-form'.
- Whorls of leaves arranged at perfect intervals up the stem give the plant a sculptural look even before bloom.
- Named after Dr. Culver, an 18th-century physician who used the root as a powerful purgative.
- It is a magnet for native bees and small butterflies — flower spikes hum constantly when in bloom.
- Pliny the Elder mentioned a related Veronicastrum in his Natural History as a wound herb.
Color meanings
White
stately calm
Lavender
soft height