Veronica spicata |
Veronica peregrina |
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spike speedwell, véronique en épi |
neckweed, purslane speedwell, véronique voyageuse |
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Habit | Perennials. | Annuals. |
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 or ascending, (2.5–)4–25(–35) cm, glabrous or densely 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 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. |
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, 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. |
Pedicels | suberect to patent, 0.5–1(–2) mm, shorter than subtending bract, eglandular- and glandular-hairy. |
erect, 0.2–1(–2) mm, much shorter than subtending bract, glabrous or densely 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–)3–6 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. |
Capsules | ± compressed in cross section, broadly ovoid, 2–3 × 2–3 mm, apex obtuse, densely glandular-puberulent. |
strongly compressed in cross section, obcordiform, 2.5–5 × 2.5–6 mm, apex ± emarginate, glabrous. |
Seeds | 3–40, light brown, ellipsoid, flat, 0.6–1.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, 0.2–0.4 mm thick, smooth. |
12–140, yellow or pale brown, oblong, flat, 0.6–1.6 × 0.4–0.9 mm, 0.1–0.2 mm thick, smooth. |
2n | = 34, 68 (Europe). |
= 52. |
Veronica spicata |
Veronica peregrina |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering (Feb–)Mar–Jun(–Nov). |
Habitat | Dry grasslands. | Moist waste lands, gardens, roadsides, stream banks, pond shorelines, vernal pools, other cultivated land. |
Elevation | 0–700 m. (0–2300 ft.) | 0–700(–3000) m. (0–2300(–9800) ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; NH; NY; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America] |
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
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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.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 17, p. 308. | FNA vol. 17, p. 314. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. peregrina var. laurentiana, V. peregrina subsp. xalapensis, V. peregrina var. xalapensis, V. sherwoodii, V. xalapensis | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 10. (1753) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 14. (1753) |
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