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blue water speedwell

round-leaved kittentails, snow queen

Habit Glabrous, short-lived perennial from fibrous roots, the stems usually erect, 2-10 dm. tall. Herbaceous perennial from a short rhizome or woody base, with several curved, scapose peduncles from the base less than 1.5 dm. long.
Leaves

Leaves opposite, sessile and clasping, elliptic-ovate to elliptic-oblong, 2-10 cm. long and 0.7-5 cm. wide, sharply serrate to entire.

Leaves all basal, long-petiolate, the blades reniform-cordate to ovate-cordate, palmately veined, 2-8 cm. long and wide, sparsely hairy above and often glabrous beneath, with shallow lobes, the lobes again toothed.

Flowers

Inflorescence of many-flowered racemes on long peduncles arising in the leaf axils;

calyx of 4 highly variable sepals;

corolla blue, rotate, 4-lobed, the upper lobe the largest, about 5 mm. wide;

style 1.5-2.5 mm. long;

pedicels up-curved, 3-8 mm. long;

stamens 2.

Flowers few in a short raceme, terminal on the naked, weak peduncles;

calyx of 4 sepals;

corolla light blue, bell-shaped, the 4 lobes a little shorter than the tube, the upper lobe the largest;

stamens 2;

stigmas capitate.

Fruits

Capsule swollen, 2.5-4 mm. high and wide, scarcely notched.

Capsule 2-4 mm. high and 6-8 mm. wide, with long hairs on the margins.

Veronica anagallis-aquatica

Veronica regina-nivalis

Flowering time June-September March-May
Habitat In or along slow-moving streams and ditches at low to moderate elevations. Forest understory at low to moderate elevations.
Distribution
Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; Washington to California.
[WildflowerSearch map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Native
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
V. americana, V. argute-serrata, V. arvensis, V. catenata, V. chamaedrys, V. cusickii, V. dissecta, V. filiformis, V. hederifolia, V. ×lackschewitzii, V. longifolia, V. missurica, V. officinalis, V. peregrina, V. persica, V. polita, V. regina-nivalis, V. rubra, V. schizantha, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. triphyllos, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
V. americana, V. anagallis-aquatica, V. argute-serrata, V. arvensis, V. catenata, V. chamaedrys, V. cusickii, V. dissecta, V. filiformis, V. hederifolia, V. ×lackschewitzii, V. longifolia, V. missurica, V. officinalis, V. peregrina, V. persica, V. polita, V. rubra, V. schizantha, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. triphyllos, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
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