Flora of North America species comparison

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Veronica spicata

spike speedwell, véronique en épi
Habit Perennials.
Stems

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 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(–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

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

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, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent.
Seeds

3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth.
2n

= 34, 68 (Europe).

Veronica spicata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Dry grasslands.
Elevation 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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. 308.
Parent taxa 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. 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 Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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