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neckweed, purslane speedwell, véronique voyageuse

fringe kittentails, fringe synthyris, fringe-petal kittentails

Habit Annuals.
Stems

erect or ascending, (2.5–)4–25(–35) cm, glabrous or densely glandular-hairy.

Leaves

blade oblanceolate proximally, narrowly oblong distally, 5–28(–35) × 2–6(–10) mm, 3–10 times as long as wide, base cuneate, margins entire or dentate distally, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or densely glandular-hairy.

persistent, some withering in 2d year as new leaves expand;

blade ovate to reniform or orbiculate, 25+ mm wide, chartaceous, base cordate to lobate, margins incised-crenate, teeth apices obtuse to rounded, surfaces ± hairy;

basal veins extending into distal 1/2 of blade, lateral veins 2–4 on each side of midvein.

Racemes

1, terminal, sometimes 1 or 2 axillary, 20–200 mm, (2–)5–40-flowered, axis glabrous or densely glandular-hairy;

bracts spatulate to linear-lanceolate, 3–22 mm.

erect, to 35 cm in fruit;

sterile bracts 2, fan-shaped, largest 2+ cm;

flowers 15–80, loosely aggregated.

Pedicels

erect, 0.2–1(–2) mm, much shorter than subtending bract, glabrous or densely glandular-hairy.

Flowers

calyx lobes (2–)3–6 mm, 0.9–2 mm wide, apex obtuse to acute, glabrous or densely glandular-hairy;

corolla white or pale pink, 2–5 mm diam.;

stamens 1 mm;

style 0.1–0.5 mm.

Stamens

epipetalous.

Ovaries

ovules 2–7.

Capsules

strongly compressed in cross section, obcordiform, 2.5–5 × 2.5–6 mm, apex ± emarginate, glabrous.

glabrous or sparsely hairy along margins.

Seeds

12–140, yellow or pale brown, oblong, flat, 0.6–1.6 × 0.4–0.9 mm, 0.1–0.2 mm thick, smooth.

Sepals

4.

Petals

(3 or)4(or 5), apex laciniate;

corolla blue to lavender with veins deeper colored (except tube yellowish white), ± regular, campanulate, much longer than calyx, glabrous, tube conspicuous.

2n

= 52.

Veronica peregrina

Synthyris schizantha

Phenology Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Jun(–Nov). Flowering May–Jun; fruiting May–Aug.
Habitat Moist waste lands, gardens, roadsides, stream banks, pond shorelines, vernal pools, other cultivated land. Moist slopes, forest edges.
Elevation 0–700(–3000) m. (0–2300(–9800) ft.) 900–1400 m. (3000–4600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Central America; South America; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, México, Sonora); Eurasia; Australia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
Discussion

Stem indument of Veronica peregrina has been used to distinguish var. xalapensis with a glandular-hairy stem (F. W. Pennell 1935), a variety that seems to be confined to drier places than the type variety. Variety laurentiana is also differentiated from var. peregrina in having a glandular-hairy stem, fleshier leaves, shorter stamens, smaller corollas, and slightly differently shaped capsules (Frère Marie-Victorin and J. Rousseau 1940).

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

Synthyris schizantha is known from the southern Olympic Mountains in Grays Harbor County and the Cascade Mountains in Lewis County, Washington, and in the vicinity of Saddle Mountain in Clatsop County, Oregon.

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

Source FNA vol. 17, p. 314. FNA vol. 17, p. 304.
Parent taxa Plantaginaceae > Veronica Plantaginaceae > Synthyris
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. filiformis, V. fruticans, V. grandiflora, V. hederifolia, V. longifolia, V. officinalis, 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
S. alpina, S. borealis, S. bullii, S. canbyi, S. cordata, S. dissecta, S. laciniata, S. lanuginosa, S. missurica, S. oblongifolia, S. pinnatifida, S. plantaginea, S. platycarpa, S. ranunculina, S. reniformis, S. ritteriana, S. rubra, S. schizantha, S. wyomingensis
Synonyms V. peregrina var. laurentiana, V. peregrina subsp. xalapensis, V. peregrina var. xalapensis, V. sherwoodii, V. xalapensis Veronica schizantha
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 14. (1753) Piper: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 29: 223. (1902)
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