The Shrubby Veronicas 



pressed to the surface of the stem, and the stem so 

 much branched that it is the living image of that 

 conifer. Of course, when the little insignificant clusters 

 of purple flowers appear at the end of the branches, the 

 true nature of the shrub becomes obvious. 



The well-known garden Veronica, V. Andersonii, is a 

 hybrid which has arisen through the crossing of the 

 Willow-leaved Veronica with the very rare cliff-growing 

 species, V. speciosa. In a variety often seen the foliage 

 is variegated, green and pale yellow, with a yellow 

 band edging the large leathery leaves. 



All the shrubby Veronicas are evergreen. The leaf 

 buds are produced at the tips of the branches, and the 

 method of development is interesting. When the outer 

 pair of leaflets enfolding the erect terminal bud part 

 and lie back, they disclose a younger pair standing 

 erect but at right angles to the original plane of the 

 initial pair. These, in their turn, enlarge and stretch 

 outwards and show a still younger pair standing erect, 

 and again at right angles to the previous pair, i.e. 

 parallel to the initial pair. Thus there is one leaf en- 

 closure within another analogous to those Chinese toys 

 where we have a long series of gradually diminishing 

 boxes fitting one inside another. 



Flowering begins in late spring, and runs right on 

 through the summer into late autumn. The flowers of 



the Veronica shrubs are always arranged in spikes, 



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