Veronica alpina |
Veronica undulata |
|
---|---|---|
alpine speedwell, véronique alpine |
undulate speedwell, wavy-leaf water speedwell |
|
Habit | Perennials. | Annuals or perennials. |
Stems | ascending, often dark bluish distally, sparsely branched at base, 5–15(–25) cm, eglandular-hairy. |
erect or prostrate basally, 10–100 cm, glabrous at least proximally, glandular-hairy distally. |
Leaves | blade ovate or oblong-elliptic, 7–30 × 4–20 mm, base cuneate, margins indistinctly dentate or entire, apex short-acuminate, abaxial surface glabrate, adaxial ± hairy. |
petiole 0–5 mm; blade elliptic to ovate, sometimes ovate-oblong or linear-lanceolate, rarely lanceolate, 20–50(–100) × 5–20(–25) mm, 2.5–4 times as long as wide, base attenuate, upwards amplexicaul, margins subentire or crenate to serrate or ± undulate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous. |
Racemes | 1, terminal, 5–20 mm, to 30 mm in fruit, (1–)3–20-flowered, axis eglandular-hairy; bracts oblanceolate, 4–5 mm. |
6–25, axillary, 50–220 mm, 10–15 mm diam., 10–100-flowered, axis sparsely glandular-hairy, rarely glabrous; pedicels 2–6 per cm; bracts linear to lanceolate, 3–6 mm, apex acute. |
Pedicels | ascending to erect, 1.5–2(–4) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular-hairy. |
patent, 3–5 mm, equal to subtending bract, sparsely glandular-hairy. |
Flowers | calyx lobes 3–4 mm, ciliate, apex obtuse or acuminate, eglandular-hairy; corolla sky blue or blue-violet, sometimes white, rotate, 2.5–5.5 mm diam.; stamens 2–2.3 mm; style 0.5–1.5(–2) mm. |
calyx lobes 1.5–2(–3) mm, apex acute, sparsely glandular-hairy, rarely glabrous; corolla pale blue or pale lilac, rarely white, 2.5–5 mm diam.; stamens 2 mm; style 0.9–2 mm. |
Capsules | compressed in cross section, obovoid or oblong-obovoid, 4.5–7.5 × 3.5–5.5 mm, ca. as long as wide, apex shallowly emarginate, eglandular-hairy or glabrate. |
slightly compressed in cross section, obcordiform to globular, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex rounded or ± emarginate, sparsely glandular-hairy. |
Seeds | 9–53, brown to yellow, ellipsoid-oblong, flat, 0.7–1.2 × 0.4–1 mm, 0.1 mm thick, smooth. |
30–40, ochre, broadly ellipsoid, ± flat, convex on both sides, 0.5–0.6 × 0.4–0.5 mm, thickness and texture unknown. |
2n | = 18. |
= 54 (Asia). |
Veronica alpina |
Veronica undulata |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Jun–)Jul–Aug. | Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Sep. |
Habitat | Slopes, moist rocks, hillocks, moist alpine and subalpine meadows. | Disturbed, wet places, ditches, or swamps. |
Elevation | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) | 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.) |
Distribution |
NU; QC; Greenland; Eurasia |
AL; OR; WA; Asia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | In the flora area, Veronica undulata was introduced near ports (Mobile, Alabama, and Portland, Oregon) before 1900 via ship ballast from trade with Asia, did not spread much, and may not have persisted. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 309. | FNA vol. 17, p. 314. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. alpina subsp. australis, V. alpina var. australis, V. pumila | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 11. (1753) | Wallich: in W. Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. 1: 147. (1820) |
Web links |