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creeping speedwell, slender speedwell, thread-stalk speedwell, véronique filiforme

spike speedwell, véronique en épi

Habit Perennials. Perennials.
Stems

creeping, 5–50 cm, eglandular- and glandular-hairy.

ascending, usually with 4–10 nodes, 5–45(–60) cm, proximally eglandular- or glandular-hairy, sometimes glabrous, distally eglandular- and, usually, glandular-hairy.

Leaves

blade suborbiculate, 4–13 × 4–14 mm, base cordate, margins crenate-serrate, teeth (2 or)3–5(or 6) per side, apex rounded, surfaces sparsely eglandular- and/or glandular-hairy.

blade ovate-oblong to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, (30–)40–70(–80) × 5–20 mm, base long-cuneate, margins shallowly crenate to shallowly serrate to subentire, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces densely glandular- or eglandular-hairy, rarely glabrate.

Racemes

1–6, terminal, 50–500 mm, 10–20-flowered, axis sparsely eglandular- and/or glandular-hairy;

bracts suborbiculate, 4–13 mm.

1(–7), terminal, sometimes with lateral ones, (50–)70–130(–170) mm, (50–)100–300-flowered, axis eglandular- and glandular-hairy;

bracts oblong to lanceolate, 3–5 mm.

Pedicels

patent or recurved, (15–)20–30 mm, length 2–5 times subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy.

suberect to patent, 0.5–1(–2) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy.

Flowers

calyx lobes 4–7 mm, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, apex rounded, sparsely glandular-hairy to glabrate;

corolla blue-violet to pale blue and white, 8–14 mm diam.;

stamens 2.1–2.5 mm;

style 3–4 mm.

calyx lobes 2–3 mm, ciliate, apex obtuse, glandular-hairy, rarely eglandular-hairy;

corolla blue, campanulate, longer than wide, 5–6 mm diam., lobes 3–4.5 × 1.5–2 mm;

stamens 5 mm;

style 8 mm.

Capsules

compressed in cross section, subglobular, 3.5–5 × 5.5–6.5 mm, apex emarginate, sinus angle 50–90°, absent or almost smooth, glabrous or glandular-ciliate.

± compressed in cross section, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent.

Seeds

(2–)6–14(–18), ochre, ovoid, flat to ± excavate, 1.3–1.7 × 1–1.3 mm, 0.6–0.8 mm thick, rugose to rugulose.

3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth.

2n

= 14 (Europe).

= 34, 68 (Europe).

Veronica filiformis

Veronica spicata

Phenology Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Aug). Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Moist lawns and meadows, waste fields, stream banks. Dry grasslands.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CT; DC; DE; ID; MD; MI; NY; OH; OR; PA; VT; WA; WV; BC; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Veronica filiformis is self-incompatible. In the flora area, plants seldom produce capsules; it is dispersed by stem cuttings. The species is native to subalpine meadows in the Caucasus and northern Turkey.

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

Veronica spicata is widely distributed in horticulture and a multitude of cultivars is available. Some specimens may also be derived from a related species, V. barrelieri Schott ex Roemer & Schultes, differentiated from V. spicata by glabrous calyx lobes, and in its typical variety, by eglandular pubescence. Another closely related species, V. incana Linnaeus, has a dense white woolly indumentum and is native to northern Asia and eastern Europe; it has not escaped from cultivation in the flora area.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 320. FNA vol. 17, p. 308.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Veronica Plantaginaceae > Veronica
Sibling taxa
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. 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. officinalis, V. peregrina, V. persica, V. polita, V. scutellata, V. serpyllifolia, V. stelleri, V. sublobata, V. teucrium, V. triloba, V. triphyllos, V. undulata, V. verna, V. wormskjoldii
Name authority Smith: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 1: 195. (1791) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753)
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