Stachytarpheta jamaicensis(L.) Vahl

light-blue snakeweed

WFO wfo-0000314894 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Dana Lee Ling
fig. a Dana Lee Ling, CC0 1.0 / 2022-06-11 / obs. 205065197
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. b Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 203994350
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Center for Urban Ecology
fig. c Center for Urban Ecology, CC0 1.0 / obs. 194434035
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. d Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 188072920
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. e Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 187925039
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas
fig. f Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 187673103
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Paulmathi Vinod
fig. g Paulmathi Vinod, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 183514013
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, photographed by Natalie Waddell-Rutter
fig. h Natalie Waddell-Rutter, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 183737729

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 34 botanical countries

Regions where Stachytarpheta jamaicensis is native: Florida, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil North, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. FloridaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBrazil NorthColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPuerto RicoSouthwest CaribbeanSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela BahamasBermudaLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesTurks-Caicos Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Bahamas BAH SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Bermuda BER
Brazil North BZN
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Puerto Rico PUE
Southwest Caribbean SWC
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Turks-Caicos Is. TCI
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Florida FLA NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 28 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Abena jamaicensis (L.) Hitchc.
  • Cymburus urticifolius Salisb.
  • Stachytarpheta bogoriensis Zoll. & Moritzi
  • Stachytarpheta indica f. monstrosa Moldenke
  • Stachytarpheta indica var. jamaicensis (L.) Razi
  • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis f. albiflora S.S.Ying
  • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis f. atrocoerulea Moldenke
  • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis f. monstrosa (Moldenke) Moldenke
  • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis f. monstrosa Moldenke
  • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis var. longifolia Hiern
  • Stachytarpheta pilosiuscula Kunth
  • Valerianoides jamaicense (L.) Medik.
  • Valerianoides jamaicense (L.) Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicense f. glabrum Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicense f. strigosum Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicense var. angustifolium Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicense var. linearifolium Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicense var. spathulatum Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicensis (L.) Medik.
  • Valerianoides jamaicensis f. glabra Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicensis f. strigosa Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicensis var. angustifolia Kuntze
  • Valerianoides jamaicensis var. spathulata Kuntze
  • Verbena americana Mill.

and 4 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.