Burke: Veronica filiformis vs. Veronica americana

	Veronica filiformis	Veronica americana
	thread-stalk speedwell	American brooklime, American speedwell
Habit	Mat-forming perennial, the stems 1-4 dm. long, lax, simple or branched below, loosely ascending, often rooting at the lower nodes.	Glabrous, herbaceous perennial from creeping rhizomes, the simple stems ascending or sometimes erect, 1-10 dm. long.
Leaves	Principal leaves opposite, short-petiolate, the blade broadly elliptic to nearly orbicular, cordate based, with short, broad teeth, 1-2 cm. long and three-fourths or more as wide.	Leaves opposite, all with short petioles, lanceolate to lance-ovate, or the lower elliptic, 1.5-8 cm. long and 0.6-3 cm. wide, serrate to nearly entire.
Flowers	Flowers single on long pedicels (up to 6 cm. in fruit) along an elongate stem, each subtended by a leaf-like, alternate bract, which are reduced upward; sepals 4, prominent, often veiny; corolla bluish-lavender, 5-11 mm. wide, rotate, 4-lobed; the upper lobe the largest; style 1.5-2.5 mm. long; stamens 2.	Inflorescence of open racemes on long peduncles arising in the leaf axils, 10-25 flowered; calyx of 4 sepals; corolla blue, rotate, 4-lobed, the upper lobe the largest, 5-19 mm. wide; style 2.5-3.5 mm. long; pedicels widely spreading, 5-14 mm. long; stamens 2.
Fruits	Capsule 5-9 mm. wide and 3-5 mm. high.	Capsule swollen, about 3 mm. high and wide, slightly notched.

	Veronica filiformis	Veronica americana
Flowering time	April-June	May-August
Habitat	Weed of lawns and gardens	Ditches, slow moving streams, oxbows, and other water bodies, from low to middle elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Montana, also in eastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Eurasia	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. americana, V. anagallis-aquatica, V. argute-serrata, V. arvensis, V. catenata, V. chamaedrys, V. cusickii, V. dissecta, 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. 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. regina-nivalis, V. rubra, V. schizantha, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. triphyllos, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Veronica filiformis

Veronica americana

thread-stalk speedwell

American brooklime, American speedwell

Habit

Mat-forming perennial, the stems 1-4 dm. long, lax, simple or branched below, loosely ascending, often rooting at the lower nodes.

Glabrous, herbaceous perennial from creeping rhizomes, the simple stems ascending or sometimes erect, 1-10 dm. long.

Leaves

Principal leaves opposite, short-petiolate, the blade broadly elliptic to nearly orbicular, cordate based, with short, broad teeth, 1-2 cm. long and three-fourths or more as wide.

Leaves opposite, all with short petioles, lanceolate to lance-ovate, or the lower elliptic, 1.5-8 cm. long and 0.6-3 cm. wide, serrate to nearly entire.

Flowers

Flowers single on long pedicels (up to 6 cm. in fruit) along an elongate stem, each subtended by a leaf-like, alternate bract, which are reduced upward;

sepals 4, prominent, often veiny;

corolla bluish-lavender, 5-11 mm. wide, rotate, 4-lobed; the upper lobe the largest;

style 1.5-2.5 mm. long;

stamens 2.

Inflorescence of open racemes on long peduncles arising in the leaf axils, 10-25 flowered;

calyx of 4 sepals;

corolla blue, rotate, 4-lobed, the upper lobe the largest, 5-19 mm. wide;

style 2.5-3.5 mm. long;

pedicels widely spreading, 5-14 mm. long;

stamens 2.

Fruits

Capsule 5-9 mm. wide and 3-5 mm. high.