Veronica
brooklime, kittentails, speedwell, synthyris
creeping to erect, glabrous or hairy, glandular or eglandular.
cauline, rarely in basal rosettes, opposite, sometimes alternate distally, rarely proximally (V. fruticans);
petiole absent or present;
blade not fleshy, not leathery (except V. fruticans ), margins entire, dentate, serrate, 3–5-pinnately lobed, 3–7 pinnatifid, or ± palmatifid.
terminal and/or axillary, racemes;
bracts present, sometimes leaflike.
absent or present;
bracteoles absent.
bisexual;
sepals 4(or 5), basally connate, calyx bilaterally symmetric, rotate to campanulate, lobes linear to suborbiculate or triangular-cordate;
corolla light to deep blue with lighter or reddish center, violet, lavender, or purple to pink with darker center, or white, bilaterally symmetric, weakly bilabiate, rotate or short-tubular, sometimes campanulate, tube base not spurred or gibbous, lobes 4, abaxial 3, adaxial 1;
stamens 2, basally adnate to corolla, filaments glabrous;
staminode 0;
ovary 2-locular, placentation axile;
stigma pointed to capitate.
capsules, dehiscence loculicidal.
(1–)4–140, yellow to brown, rarely blackish (V. triphyllos), planoconvex to urn-shaped, wings absent.
Veronica
Species ca. 450 (34 in the flora).
Veronica includes many horticultural and weedy plants. Introduction and subsequent naturalization of species is often a possibility. The classification by D. C. Albach et al. (2004b) recognized 13 subgenera within Veronica; this was reduced to 12 by P. J. Garnock-Jones et al. (2007). Of these 12, ten are represented in the flora area. Species in this treatment are ordered by their placement in these subgenera as follows: subg. Pseudolysimachium (W. D. J. Koch) Buchenau (species 1 and 2, type V. spicata), subg. Veronica Linnaeus (species 3–10, type V. officinalis), subg. Beccabunga (Hill) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 11–17, type V. beccabunga), subg. Pellidosperma (E. B. J. Lehman) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 18, type V. praecox Allioni), subg. Cochlidiosperma (Reichenbach) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 19–22, type V. hederifolia), subg. Chamaedrys (W. D. J. Koch) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 23–26, type V. chamaedrys), subg. Stenocarpon (Borissova) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 27, type V. ciliata Fischer), subg. Pocilla (Dumortier) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 28–33, type V. agrestis), and subg. Pentasepalae (Bentham) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer (species 34, type V. teucrium).
One of the subgenera, subg. Synthyris (Bentham) M. M. Martínez Ortega, Albach & M. A. Fischer, includes species treated here as the genus Synthyris. Other taxa included in Veronica but sometimes recognized at the generic rank are Pseudolysimachion (W. D. J. Koch) Opiz (D. C. Albach 2008) and Hebe Commerson ex Jussieu (P. J. Garnock-Jones et al. 2007).
Subgenus Pseudoveronica J. B. Armstrong includes Veronica franciscana Eastwood [= Hebe franciscana (Eastwood) Souster] and V. speciosa R. Cunningham ex A. Cunningham [= H. speciosa (R. Cunningham ex A. Cunningham) Andersen], which have been introduced to California as ornamentals that might escape.
Characters known to vary in Veronica are the indument (to densely white tomentose in V. incana Linnaeus), leaf shape, and flower color. Among many of the creeping species of the genus (for example, V. agrestis, V. filiformis, V. hederifolia, V. persica), most leaflike organs on the stems are bracts. The genus also includes a number of ornamentally grown plants, most of them more or less closely related to V. teucrium. They differ mainly in habit and leaf shape and should key out close to V. chamaedrys, V. officinalis, or V. teucrium, but none of them have been reported to persist outside their native range.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Racemes 1–25, axillary. | → 2 |
2. Stems hairy, rarely glabrate or glabrous; leaf blades 1–3 times as long as wide, rarely to 4 times as long (V. teucrium); meadows, forests, and other dry habitats. | → 3 |
3. Leaf blades elliptic-ovate, ovate, ovate-oblong, or obovate, bases cuneate to attenuate or obtuse. | → 4 |
4. Pedicels 8–10 mm, longer than subtending bracts; arctic. | V. grandiflora |
4. Pedicels (0.5–)1–2(–3) mm, shorter than subtending bracts; not arctic. | V. officinalis |
3. Leaf blades ± ovate, ovate-orbiculate, or oblong-ovate, rarely lanceolate, bases truncate to ± cordate. | → 5 |
5. Stems ascending, rarely erect, (7–)10–30(–50) cm, hairs along stem in 2 prominent lines; calyces 4-lobed; styles (2.5–)4–5 mm. | V. chamaedrys |
5. Stems erect, rarely ascending, (15–)30–70(–100) cm, hairs evenly distributed around stem; calyces 5-lobed; styles 5–6 mm. | V. teucrium |
2. Stems glabrous or, if hairy, then only distally; leaf blades 1.5–10 times as long as wide; wet meadows, marshes, or aquatic habitats. | → 6 |
6. Petioles 2–6(–10) mm. | → 7 |
7. Leaf blades widest near or distal to middle; styles (1.3–)1.5–3(–3.5) mm. | V. beccabunga |
7. Leaf blades widest proximal to middle; styles (1.7–)2.5–3.5(–4) mm. | V. americana |
6. Petioles 0(–5) mm or proximals to 8 mm and distals 0 mm. | → 8 |
8. Capsules compressed in cross section, apices emarginate by 1/3 length; leaf blades narrowly lanceolate or linear, rarely elliptic. | V. scutellata |
8. Capsules ± compressed or ± round in cross section, apices rounded or ± emarginate; leaf blades ovate-oblong, ovate, oblong, linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, elliptic, oblong-ovate, or oblong-lanceolate. | → 9 |
9. Corollas white to pale pink; calyx lobe apices obtuse; stamens 5 mm; pedicels equal to ± shorter than subtending bract; leaf margins entire or subentire. | V. catenata |
9. Corollas pale lilac to pale blue or lavender, rarely white; calyx lobe apices acute; stamens 2–3.5 mm; pedicels equal to longer than subtending bract; leaf margins crenate, serrulate, or denticulate to subentire, sometimes serrate or ± undulate (V. undulata). | → 10 |
10. Pedicels suberect or arcuate-erect to subpatent; racemes 5–10 mm diam., axes glabrous, rarely glandular-hairy. | V. anagallis-aquatica |
10. Pedicels patent; racemes 10–15 mm diam., axes sparsely glandular-hairy, rarely glabrous. | V. undulata |
1. Racemes 1(–20), terminal, sometimes also with 1–4 axillary racemes, flowers sometimes appearing solitary. | → 11 |
11. Perennials; leaf blades (5–)7–40(–150) mm (usually at least 3 mm longer than bracts); bracts 1–9(–15) mm. | → 12 |
12. Corollas campanulate; racemes (50–)70–200(–300) mm, (50–)100–300-flowered. | → 13 |
13. Stems usually with 10–20 nodes, (50–)70–120(–150) cm; leaf blade margins serrate to biserrate, apices acute. | V. longifolia |
13. Stems usually with 4–10 nodes, 5–45(–60) cm; leaf blade margins shallowly crenate to shallowly serrate to subentire, apices obtuse to rounded. | V. spicata |
12. Corollas rotate; racemes (± loose), 5–100(–130) mm, (1–)2–30(–60)-flowered. | → 14 |
14. Capsules wider than long; stems with scattered eglandular hairs only, often also with glandular hairs, sometimes glabrate. | V. serpyllifolia |
14. Capsules ca. as long as or longer than wide; stems eglandular- or glandular-hairy. | → 15 |
15. Subshrubs; stems densely branched from woody base. | V. fruticans |
15. Herbs; stems unbranched or sparsely branched. | → 16 |
16. Stamens 1–2.3 mm; corollas 2.5–11 mm diam.; styles 0.5–4(–6) mm. | → 17 |
17. Raceme axes eglandular-hairy or glabrate; pedicels 1.5–2(–4) mm; styles 0.5–1.5(–2) mm. | V. alpina |
17. Raceme axes glandular-hairy; pedicels 2–10(–15) mm; styles 0.8–4(–6) mm. | V. wormskjoldii |
16. Stamens 4–8 mm; corollas (8–)10–13 mm diam.; styles 3–10 mm. | → 18 |
18. Leaf blade surfaces glabrous or glabrate. | V. cusickii |
18. Leaf blade surfaces hairy. | → 19 |
19. Leaf blade margins entire; stems glandular-hairy. | V. copelandii |
19. Leaf blade margins dentate or serrate; stems eglandular-hairy. | V. stelleri |
11. Mostly annuals (V. triphyllos sometimes biennial, V. filiformis perennial); leaf blades (2–)5–28(–35) mm; bracts 3–25 mm (if bracts less than 9 mm, leaf blades usually less than 10 mm). | → 20 |
20. Pedicels 0–4(–5) mm. | → 21 |
21. Corollas white or pale pink; leaf blades 3–10 times as long as wide, margins entire or dentate distally. | V. peregrina |
21. Corollas ± blue; leaf blades 1–2.5 times as long as wide, margins crenate-serrate, pinnatifid, or subpalmatifid. | → 22 |
22. Leaf margins crenate-serrate. | V. arvensis |
22. Leaf margins, at least distal leaves, pinnatifid or ± palmatifid. | → 23 |
23. Corollas 1.5–3 mm diam.; styles 0.2–0.6 mm, stigmas white. | V. verna |
23. Corollas 4–6 mm diam.; styles 0.8–1.5 mm, stigmas violet. | V. dillenii |
20. Pedicels (2–)4–30 mm. | → 24 |
24. Leaf blade margins 3–5(–7)-palmatifid. | V. triphyllos |
24. Leaf blade margins serrate, dentate, crenate-serrate, or 3–9-lobed. | → 25 |
25. Styles (1.5–)2–4 mm; pedicels (12–)15–30(–38) mm; corollas ± blue, 8–14 mm diam. | → 26 |
26. Capsules reticulate with prominent veins, sinus angle (80–)90–120(–150)°; pedicels (12–)15–27(–38) mm, length 1–2(–3) times subtending bracts. | V. persica |
26. Capsules absent or almost smooth, sinus angle 50–90°; pedicels (15–)20–30 mm, length 2–5 times subtending bracts. | V. filiformis |
25. Styles 0.2–2 mm; pedicels (2–)3–15(–30) mm; corollas ± blue, white, pale lilac, pinkish, or pale violet, 2–12 mm diam. | → 27 |
27. Stems erect. | → 28 |
28. Bract margins: proximals serrate, distals sometimes entire; leaf blades (6–)12–28(–35) mm; styles (0.7–)1–1.3(–1.7) mm. | V. argute-serrata |
28. Bract margins entire; leaf blades (3–)4–12(–20) mm; styles 0.4–0.8(–2) mm. | V. biloba |
27. Stems creeping, decumbent, or ascending, rarely erect in young plants (V. sublobata). | → 29 |
29. Leaf blade margins dentate to serrate; capsules ± compressed or ± round in cross section, apices emarginate. | → 30 |
30. Calyx lobes broadly ovate, 2.6–3.8 mm wide; capsules densely eglandular-hairy (hairs less than 0.1 mm), sometimes also glandular-puberulent (hairs 0.2–0.3 mm), rarely glabrous; corollas intense dark to bright blue, rarely pale lilac or white. | V. polita |
30. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, 2.2–2.6 mm wide; capsules sparsely glandular-hairy; corollas white or pale pinkish or pale blue. | V. agrestis |
29. Leaf blade margins 3–5(–9)-lobed; capsules ± round in cross section, apices ± emarginate. | → 31 |
31. Corollas white; calyx lobes not ciliate. | V. cymbalaria |
31. Corollas blue or pale violet to whitish; calyx lobes ciliate. | → 32 |
32. Corollas deep blue with white center; calyx lobe abaxial surfaces puberulent, rarely glabrous; pedicel length 1–2 times calyx. | V. triloba |
32. Corollas bright blue with bright white center or pale violet to whitish; calyx lobe abaxial surfaces sparsely hairy or glabrous; pedicel length 2–4(–6) times calyx. | → 33 |
33. Corollas bright blue with bright white center, 5–7(–9) mm diam.; styles (0.6–)0.7–0.9(–1.1) mm; pedicel length 2–3 times calyx, eglandular-hairy in single line adaxially. | V. hederifolia |
33. Corollas pale violet to whitish, 4–5(–6) mm diam.; styles 0.2–0.7 mm; pedicel length 3–4(–6) times calyx, densely eglandular-hairy adaxially. | V. sublobata |
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