vervain

[ vur-veyn ]

/ ˈvɜr veɪn /

any plant belonging to the genus Verbena, of the verbena family, having elongated or flattened spikes of stalkless flowers.

Origin of vervain

1350–1400; Middle English vervaine < Anglo-French, Middle French verveine < Latin verbēna leafy twig, holy bough carried by priests

vertisol, vertu, vertumnus, verulamian, verulamium, vervain, verve, vervelle, vervet, verwoerd, very

Vervain cureth ague; and crowfoot affords ye leaste painfulle of blisters.

Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XI.--April, 1851--Vol. II. |Various
Upon the warm wind a fragrance was borne, cedar and vervain, and the scent of a hundred flowers.

Japanese Fairy Tales |Grace James
Mrs. Vervain went on, smoothly: "I supposed it might have struck you that there were times when we presented that appearance."

The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 1 (of 10) |Edith Wharton
This was possibly the verbena, well known in folk-medicine as vervain, and much used in the Middle Ages.

Of Six Medival Women |Alice Kemp-Welch

As he hung over her he drank in the faint perfume of vervain that arose from her dressing-gown.

A Love Episode |Emile Zola

vervain

/ (ˈvɜːveɪn) /

any of several verbenaceous plants of the genus Verbena, having square stems and long slender spikes of purple, blue, or white flowers

C14: from Old French verveine, from Latin verbēna sacred bough; see verbena