The Verbenaceae, the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The family Verbenaceae includes 32 genera and 800 species. Phylogenetic studies have shown that numerous genera traditionally classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae. The mangrove genus Avicennia, sometimes placed in the Verbenaceae or in its own family, Avicenniaceae, has been placed in the Acanthaceae. Economically important Verbenaceae include:

Taxonomy

Tribes and genera in the family and their estimated species numbers: Casselieae (Schauer) Tronc. Citharexyleae Briq. Duranteae Bent. Lantaneae Endl. Neospartoneae Olmstead & N.O'Leary Petreeae Briq. Priveae Briq. Verbeneae Dumort. Unassigned

Excluded genera

Various genera formerly included in the family Verbenaceae are now treated under other families: