I’ll put a picture up when I can find a good one of the American species. I believe European and American Blue Vervain are interchangable insofar as their use in herbalism but they look totally different. The American species has a gorgrous crown of deep blue flower heads bursting from a tall, upright plant. The European version has longer spikes of flowers and sort of resembles giant wild hyssop. I know- Much good that does you without a picture.

What I’ve tried of this plant has been very helpful to me with PMS. In fact, Matthew Wood writes that it is good for women whose PMS symptoms resemble influenza symptoms as it was used first as a remedy against the flu. I’ve had the tincture of flower heads relieve nausea and a bit of my cramping and generally calm me down without sedating me.

I’ve found it has a bit of a nervine effect on me but that might be because I have something of the blue vervain personality- Driven, stubborn, strong sense of personal right and wrong, holds tension in the neck and shoulders. Me. ;) But the plant speaks of working with the nerves, getting everything in the proper rhythm. To me, it has a similar feel to skullcap (my favorite nervine) in this regard and like skullcap, I’ve had it relieve pain- but only in the neck, head, and shoulders. I’ll point out that blue vervain is also used for epilepsy but I don’t have it, so I can’t report personal findings.

I believe I read that blue vervain is also used in menopause and for gravel, also I think it is used for prostate problems but I’d have to go refresh my memory on that if anyone asks.

Traditionally the root is used but the leaves and flower heads can also be used. The flower heads are commonly dried for tea. I used flower head tincture to get a feel for this plant as well as the flower essence (which can substitute well for the tincture).