The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

American brooklime, American speedwell, brooklime, European speedwell, véronique beccabunga

common gypsyweed, common speedwell, heath speedwell, herbal speedwell, Paul's betony, véronique officinale

Habit Perennials.
Stems

creeping, decumbent to ascending distally, 10–40(–50) cm, densely eglandular-hairy, rarely glabrate or glabrous.

Leaves

blade ovate, ovate-oblong, or obovate, (8–)20–35(–50) × (3–)10–20(–30) mm, 1.5–2 times as long as wide, base attenuate to cuneate or obtuse, margins dentate, denticulate, or serrulate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces sparsely to densely eglandular-hairy, rarely glabrate.

Racemes

1–4(–8), axillary, 40–60 mm, 10–35(–40)-flowered, axis densely to sparsely eglandular-hairy, sometimes also glandular-hairy, rarely glabrate;

bracts linear-lanceolate or narrowly ovate, (1.5–)3–4(–5) mm.

Pedicels

erect, (0.5–)1–2(–3) mm, shorter than subtending bract, densely eglandular-hairy, rarely glandular-hairy or glabrate.

Flowers

calyx 4(or 5)-lobed, lobes 2–3.5(–4) mm, apex obtuse, glandular- and eglandular-hairy;

corolla pale blue-lilac to pale pink, rarely white with pink veins, 6–8 mm diam.;

stamens 2.8–3.4 mm;

style 2.5–3(–4) mm.

Capsules

compressed in cross section, triangulate-obdeltoid to obcordiform, 3–5 × 4–5 mm, apex rounded or truncate, rarely emarginate, glandular-hairy, rarely glabrous.

Seeds

9–24, brown to yellow, ellipsoid, ovoid, or obovoid, flat, 0.8–1.6 × (0.3–)0.6–1.2 mm, 0.2–0.3 mm thick, smooth.

2n

= 18, 36 (Europe).

Veronica beccabunga

Veronica officinalis

Phenology Flowering (Apr–)Jun–Jul(–Aug).
Habitat Forests, meadows, pastures, scrub, ruderal places.
Elevation 0–1600 m. (0–5200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CT; IL; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; NJ; NV; NY; OH; PA; VA; WI; WV; BC; ON; QC; Eurasia; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in s South America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM; Greenland; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced in s South America (Chile)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (1 in the flora).

Subspecies abscondita M. A. Fischer is found from eastern Turkey to western Iran, while the native range of subsp. muscosa (Korshinsky) Elenevsky extends from eastern Iran to southern China.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Veronica ×tournefortii Villars [V. officinalis var. tournefortii (Villars) Dumortier] refers to the hybrid between V. officinalis and V. allionii Villars in Europe and is not applicable to any North American plant.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 312. FNA vol. 17, p. 311.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Veronica Plantaginaceae > Veronica
Sibling taxa
V. agrestis, V. alpina, V. americana, V. anagallis-aquatica, V. argute-serrata, V. arvensis, V. biloba, V. catenata, V. chamaedrys, V. copelandii, V. cusickii, V. cymbalaria, V. dillenii, V. filiformis, V. fruticans, V. grandiflora, V. hederifolia, V. longifolia, V. officinalis, V. peregrina, V. persica, V. polita, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. spicata, V. stelleri, V. sublobata, V. teucrium, V. triloba, V. triphyllos, V. undulata, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
V. agrestis, V. alpina, V. americana, V. anagallis-aquatica, V. argute-serrata, V. arvensis, V. beccabunga, V. biloba, V. catenata, V. chamaedrys, V. copelandii, V. cusickii, V. cymbalaria, V. dillenii, V. filiformis, V. fruticans, V. grandiflora, V. hederifolia, V. longifolia, V. peregrina, V. persica, V. polita, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. spicata, V. stelleri, V. sublobata, V. teucrium, V. triloba, V. triphyllos, V. undulata, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
Subordinate taxa
V. beccabunga subsp. beccabunga
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 12. (1753) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 11. (1753)
Web links