52 DIAJCDRIA 3IONOGVNIA. [JCL. II. 



entire at the margin : fruit-stalks remarkably spreading : flowers flesh- 

 coloured, streaked with blue. Perennial : flowers in June and July : 

 grows in marshy places with gravelly soil : not common. Eng. Bot, vol. 

 xi. pi. 782. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 21. 24. 



8. V. montdna. Mountain Speedwell. Clusters elongated, few-flow- 

 ered ; leaves egg-shaped, serrate, stalked ; stem hairy all round. 



Root fibrous : stems weak, decumbent, leafy : leaves deeply serrate, thin, 

 shining, slightly hairy: clusters loose: flowers pale blue, with purple 

 lines : capsule of two orbicular lobes, compressed with a sharp ciliated 

 margin. Perennial : flowers in May and June : moist woods : not 

 unfrequent. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 766. Eng, Fl. vol. i. p. 23. 25. 



9. V. Chamte'drys. Germander Speedwell. Clusters many-flowered ; 

 leaves egg-shaped, sessile, deeply serrate ; stem with two opposite rows of 



long white hairs. Stems decumbent at the base, marked with two 



lines of long hairs, which change sides between each pair of leaves : 

 leaves wrinkled and hairy, with large serratures : clusters long, shooting 

 up beyond the stem : flowers large, bright blue, with deeper streaks, 

 externally pale purple : capsule inversely heart-shaped. Perennial : 

 flowers in May and June : grows on dry banks, under hedges, in open 

 pastures and in woods : common. The infusion of this species* and V. 

 officinalis has been recommended as a substitute for tea. Eng. Bot. vol. i. 

 pi. 623. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 23. 26. 



10. V. officindlis. Common Speedwell. Clusters spiked; leaves broadly 



elliptical, serrate, rough with short hairs ; stem procumbent, hairy. 



Stems prostrate, rooting at the base, from six to eighteen inches long : 

 leaves with short stalks, stiffish, pale green, spikes of numerous light blue 

 or purplish flowers, veined with deeper blue : partial flower-stalks shorter 

 than the bracteas: capsule inversely heart-shaped. Perennial: flowers 

 in May and June : grows on dry banks, in open pastures, on heaths, and 

 in dry woods ; not uncommon. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 765. En^. Fl. 

 vol. i. p. 22. An alpine variety occurs in some parts of Scotland and 

 Ireland. It differs in being entirely destitute of hairs, and in having a 

 much denser spike of deep blue flowers. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 22. 



Another variety with capsules, leaves between elliptical and lance- 

 shaped, and inversely heart-shaped, undivided, two or three inches high, 

 found in dry heathy places, in the district of Carrick, Ayrshire, by Mr. 

 James Smith, and in various parts of Scotland by others, lias been de- 

 scribed under the name of V. hirsuta. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 23. 27. 



*** Flowers solitary. 



11. V.agres'tis. Green procumbent Chickweed Speedwell. Leaves all 

 stalked, egg-shaped, deeply serrate, the lower ones opposite ; flower-stalks 

 about equal to the leaves in length, curved when in fruit ; corolla shorter 



than the calyx; seeds cupped. Root small: stems hairy on two 



opposite sides, branched at the base, spreading, hairy : leaves broad, with 

 short stalks: corolla small, pale blue: capsule two-lobed, tumid, rough, 

 with about six seeds. Annual : flowers from April to September : grows 

 in cultivated fields : common. Eng. Bot. Suppl. pi. 2603. Eng. Fl. 

 vol. i. p. 24. 28. 



12. V. polita. Grey Procumbent Chickweed Speedwell. Leaves all 

 stalked, between egg-shaped and heart-shaped, deeply serrate, the lower 

 ones opposite ; flower-stalks about the length of the leaves, curved when 

 in fruit; corolla shorter than the calyx; seeds cupped. Stems pro- 

 cumbent, spreading, hairy : corolla dark blue, veined : capsule two- 



