Veronica spicata |
Veronica cusickii |
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spike speedwell, véronique en épi |
Cusick's speedwell |
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Habit | Perennials. | 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. |
erect, unbranched or sparsely branched at base, (5–)10–15(–30) cm, finely 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. |
blade elliptic-ovate, (5–)10–25 × 5–10 mm, base cuneate, margins entire or subentire, apex short-acuminate, surfaces glabrous or 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. |
1, terminal, (15–)40–80(–130) mm, (4–)8–30(–40)-flowered, axis finely glandular-hairy; bracts lanceolate, 3–7(–11) mm. |
Pedicels | suberect to patent, 0.5–1(–2) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy. |
erect, 3–9 mm, equal to or ± longer than subtending bract, finely 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. |
calyx lobes 2–3 mm, apex acute to obtuse, finely glandular-hairy; corolla deep blue-violet, rarely white, rotate, (8–)10–13 mm diam.; stamens 4–8 mm; style (5–)6–9(–10) mm, conspicuously exerted. |
Capsules | ± compressed in cross section, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent. |
compressed in cross section, oblong-obovoid, 4–6 × 3.5–5.5 mm, ca. as long as wide, apex emarginate, finely glandular-hairy. |
Seeds | 3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth. |
28–32, straw colored or dark brown, ovoid, flat, 0.6 × 0.4 mm, 0.1 mm thick, rough. |
2n | = 34, 68 (Europe). |
= 18, 72. |
Veronica spicata |
Veronica cusickii |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Dry grasslands. | Gravelly soils, openings in coniferous forests and in subalpine and alpine meadows. |
Elevation | 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.) | 1500–3200 m. (4900–10500 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; BC
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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.) |
Veronica cusickii is sister to V. copelandii and closely related to V. wormskjoldii subsp. nutans (D. C. Albach et al. 2006). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 308. | FNA vol. 17, p. 310. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. allenii | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753) | A. Gray: in A. Gray et al., Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 2(1): 288. (1878) |
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