Botany
· This plant is a more or less hairy herb, growing up to 90 cm in height, erect, but decumbent at the base.
· Leaves: 5 to 10 cm long, variously lobed and narrowed to the base; the lower ones are stalked, pinnatifid or coarsely toothed, more or less hairy, and usually hairy on the nerves beneath; this upper ones are without stalks and 3-lobed.
· Flowers: small, 4 to 6 mm long, without stalks and borne on dense, bracteate heads which elongate as the fruit ripens. The calyx is twice as long as the bracts and half as long as the corolla tube, minutely 5-toothed, and glandular hairy. The corolla is blue or lilac, and hairy, with spreading limb; the lobes are subquadrate, with a hairy throat.
· Fruits: dry, ultimately spreading into four 1-seeded nutlets which are oblong and dorsally smooth, their undersurfaces covered with minute, white flaking cells.

Distribution
A weed in waste places in and about towns, at low and medium altitudes, only in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and Nueva Viscaya.

Parts utilized
· Entire plant.
· Collect from May to October.
· Rinse, sun-dry, and cut into pieces.

Properties
Bitter tasting, refrigerant.
Anticontusive, antifebrile, anti-infectious, diuretic.
Eases out lymphatic circulation.

Constituents and properties
• Contains verbenalin, transferase, amygdalase, and tannin
• Considered analgesic, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antispasmodic, antitumor, astringent, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, galatagogue, stimulant, tonic.
• Study yielded four compounds: apigenin, 4'-hydroxywogonin, verbenalin and hastatoside. source

Uses
Edibility
Leaves: parboiled, seasoned, eaten.
Flowers: as garnish.
Folkloric
· Amenorrhea, difficult menstruation.
· High fever during influenza, malaria.
· Hepatitis, hepatic sclerosis.
· Nephritis, edema, urinary tract infection, urinary tract lithiasis.
· Sprains, eczema, dermatitis.
· Decoction: 15-30 gm of dried material. Wash used for eczemma and dermatitis.
· Poultice of pounded fresh material for sprains and contusions.
· Used for headaches, fever, insufficient lactation.
· Used to assist contractions during labor.
· Root used for dysentery.

Studies
• Anti-Inflammatory: Study isolated ß-sitosterol, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, 3-epiursolic acid, 3-epioleanolic acid and showed the ether, chlorofom and methanol extracts of VO to have antiinflammatory activity
• Neuroprotective: Study of aqueous extracts of V officinialis showed novel neuroprotective effects supporting its folkloric use and a potential as a neuroprotective agent against neuronal loss in Alzheimer's Disease.
• Gastroprotective / Antioxidant / Antiinflammatory: Study showed extracts to exhibit antiinflammatory activity and reduction of gastric damage. It also showed improved wound healing suggesting the presence of some lipophilic active principle.
• Volatile Constituents: Study of of aerial parts of VO yielded volatile constituents: 3-hexen-1-ol, 1-octen-3-ol, linalool, verbenone and geranial.
• Antioxidant / Antifungal: Study of 50% methanolic extract and caffeoyl derivatives showed excellent and readily available sources of antifungal and antioxidant compounds.

Availability
Wild-crafted. 
Extracts and teas in the cybermarket.