diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
index 754cc8d93e0d1e5380d26eb401da14ca5940c269..2c6b6d68ac6ba48c1c9a1634b8e3785fc6a98098 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/openmpi/package.py
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ def _verbs_dir():
         # Remove executable name and "bin" directory
         path = os.path.dirname(path)
         path = os.path.dirname(path)
+        # There's usually no "/include" on Unix; use "/usr/include" instead
+        if path == "/":
+            path = "/usr"
         return path
     except:
         return None