1902] Fernald, — Two Northeastern Veronicas 193 



equally abundant in the village of Beauport, fully eight miles, as the 

 crow flies, from Sillery ; and there as elsewhere it grew in " small 

 running brookes, and waterie ditches." 



Though Veronica Beccabunga is now thoroughly at home about the 

 city of Quebec it was apparently not seen by either Michaux or 

 Pursh : in their wide travels through Canada, and it has not appar- 

 ently been noted by later botanists. In the limited and thickly pop- 

 ulated district where it is now known to occur it is associated with 

 many other plants obviously introduced from Europe, and there is no 

 reason to suppose that the European Brooklime is indigenous in 

 Canada. In view of its wide repute in Europe as a remedy for 

 scurvy and other pestilent diseases and its ^se as a salad during the 

 17th century, it would be interesting to know whether Veronica Bec- 

 cabunga was intentionally brought to America by the early French 

 settlers of Quebec. If this were the case, however, it is strange that 

 the plant escaped the eyes of both Michaux and Pursh. 



Veronica serpyllifolia. 



In June, 1898, while botanizing along the Aroostook River, at 

 Masardis, Maine, I was impressed by the remarkable development 

 of Veronica serpyllifolia in the alluvial soil of the river-terraces. Not 

 only was the plant much larger than any form of V. serpyllifolia 

 with which I had been familiar but its flowers, often a quarter inch 

 broad, were deep blue with violet stripes, not the pale or whitish 

 color we know in the small-flowered plant of Massachusetts grass- 

 lands and roadsides. At Masardis and, as it proved later, at many 

 other points in the Aroostook and St. John valleys this showy blue- 

 flowered Veronica abounded on river-terraces or in rich open woods, 

 often brilliantly coloring the ground for many rods. Like V. serpylli- 

 folia this plant of northern Maine had many strongly decumbent 

 branches, but these were frequently quite a foot in height, while the 

 leaves were sometimes a full inch in length. Material of this plant 

 was collected at various points in the valleys and a special watch 

 was kept for the ordinary V. serpyllifolia of southern New England. 

 This, however, was not seen, and when, upon returning to Cambridge, 

 the large plant was compared with it, a point of distinction formerly 



1 The V. Beccabunga of Pursh, from Pennsylvania to Virginia, was probably V. 

 americana. 



