Veronica spicata |
Veronica filiformis |
|
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spike speedwell, véronique en épi |
creeping speedwell, slender speedwell, thread-stalk speedwell, véronique filiforme |
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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. |
creeping, 5–50 cm, eglandular- and 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 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. |
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. |
1–6, terminal, 50–500 mm, 10–20-flowered, axis sparsely eglandular- and/or glandular-hairy; bracts suborbiculate, 4–13 mm. |
Pedicels | suberect to patent, 0.5–1(–2) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy. |
patent or recurved, (15–)20–30 mm, length 2–5 times 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. |
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. |
Capsules | ± compressed in cross section, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent. |
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. |
Seeds | 3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth. |
(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. |
2n | = 34, 68 (Europe). |
= 14 (Europe). |
Veronica spicata |
Veronica filiformis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Jun(–Aug). |
Habitat | Dry grasslands. | Moist lawns and meadows, waste fields, stream banks. |
Elevation | 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.) | 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
CA; CT; DC; DE; ID; MD; MI; NY; OH; OR; PA; VT; WA; WV; BC; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America]
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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 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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 308. | FNA vol. 17, p. 320. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753) | Smith: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 1: 195. (1791) |
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