234 The Ohio Journal of Science [Vol. XXI, No. 7, 



2-lobed. In brooks and swamps. May-September. Cuyahoga, Ottawa, 

 Erie, Perry, Lucas, Crawford, Licking, and Franklin Counties. 



6. Veronica officinalis L. Common Speedwell. 



Pubescent perennial, with prostrate but finally erect stem, 3-12 in. 

 high. Leaves oblong, oval, or obovate, 3^-2 in. long, obtuse, serrate, 

 narrowed at the base into short petioles. Racemes spike-like, narrow, 

 dense, elongated, and axillary, much longer than the leaves; bractlets 

 longer than the pedicels; flowers pale blue, striped with violet. Capsule 

 obovate-cuneate. In dry fields and on hills. May-August. General and 

 abundant. In colonial times grown as a medicinal plant. 



7. Veronica serpyllifolia L. Thyme-leaf Speedwell. 



Perennial, glabrous or puberulent, with slender, branching stem, 

 2-10 in. high. Leaves oval, ovate, or oblong, crenulate or entire, short- 

 petioled, or the uppermost sessile. Flowers in short, narrow, loose 

 racemes, at the end of stem or branches; bractlets leaf-like, becoming 

 abruptly smaller than the uppermost leaves; pedicles shorter than the 

 bracts; corolla whitish or blue, with deeper stripes. Capsule rounded, 

 obcordate or emarginate at summit, broader than high. Fields, lawns, 

 roadsides, and thickets. April-August. General. 



8. Veronica peregrina L. Purslane Speedwell. 



Erect, glabrous or glandular- puberulent, branching annual, 3-13 in. 

 high. Leaves oblong, oval, linear, or only slightly spatulate, /^-/^ in. 

 long, the lowest ones opposite, sessile, usually denticulate, the upper 

 ones alternate, sessile, mostly entire, longer than the flowers. Flowers 

 solitary, axillary, usually white or very pale blue; pedicels shorter than 

 the calyx. Capsule nearly orbicular, usually a little shorter than the 

 calyx, glabrous. Waste and cultivated grounds, in damp soil. May- 

 October. General. Our specimens include the glandular-pubescent form. 

 .V. peregrina xalapensis (H. B. K.) Pennell. 



9. Veronica arvensis L. Field Speedwell. 



Simple or diffusely-branched, pubescent annual, 3-11 in. long. 

 Lower leaves opposite, oval or ovate, crenate, the lowest ones petioled, 

 the uppermost sessile, alternate, ovate or lanceolate, commonly entire. 

 Flowers small, dark blue, solitary in the axils; pedicels shorter than the 

 calyx. Capsule broadly obovate, obcordate. Fields, lawns, and woods, 

 and cultivated soil. March-September. General. From Europe. 



10. Veronica agrestis L. Garden Speedwell. 



Slender, pubescent annual, with creeping or procumbent stem, 3-S 

 in. long, and ascending or spreading branches. Leaves broadly ovate, 

 obtuse at the apex, truncate or subcordate at the base, crenate, short- 

 petioled, the lower ones opposite, the upper ones alternate. Flowers 

 small, blue, solitary in the axils, long-peduncled, the peduncles equalling 

 or longer than the leaves. Corolla not longer than the calyx. Capsule 

 broader than high, not very flat, narrowly emarginate at the summit. 

 In fields and waste places. ' May-September. Hamilon, Montgomery, 

 and Franklin Counties. From Europe. 



