In the past Salvia verbenaca occurred as a native, albeit very rare plant in two parts of the Netherlands, viz. the southwestern province of Zeeland and the riverine area in the eastern province of Gelderland. Because it was not recorded anymore after 1948, it was considered extinct. Excluding the 1989 man-made locality in the north, it was rediscovered in 2000 on a dike along the Wester Scheldt, probably on the same spot where it was erroneously identified as Salvia pratensis in 1981. Also in the past such mistakes occurred for other localities in Zeeland.