220 KEY AND FLORA 



1. G. virginiana L. Stem cylindrical, 4-10 in. long, branching from 

 the base. Leaves f-lj in. long, varying from lance-oblong to spatu- 

 late. Corolla pale yellow, tinged with red. Common in muddy soil, 

 along brooksides, etc. 



VI. VERONICA L. 



Herbs or shrubs. Lower leaves or all the leaves opposite, 

 rarely whorled. Flowers in axillary or terminal racemes, rarely 

 solitary. Calyx usually 4-parted. Corolla wheel-shaped or some- 

 what bell-shaped ; limb usually 4-cleft, spreading, the side lobes 

 commonly narrower. Stamens 2, inserted on the corolla tube 

 at the sides of the upper lobe, projecting. Stigma somewhat 

 knobbed. Capsule generally flattened, often notched at the 

 apex, 2-celled, few-many-seeded. 



1. ■ V. americana Schwein. Brooklime. A perennial, smooth herb, 

 somewhat prostrate below but the upper parts of the stem erect, 

 8-15 in. high. Leaves 1-2 in. long, lance-ovate or oblong, serrate, 

 short-petioled. Racemes 2-4 in. long, axillary and opposite. Corolla 

 wheel-shaped, blue. Capsule swollen, roundish. Muddy soil about 

 springs and brooks. 



2. V. officinalis L. Common Speedwell, Gypsy Weed. Peren- 

 nial. Roughish-downy, with the prostrate stems spreading and root- 

 ing. Leaves wedge-oblong or nearly so, obtuse, serrate, somewhat 

 petioled. Racemes dense, of many pale bluish ilowers. Capsule 

 rather large, inversely heart-shaped and somewhat triangular. Dry 

 hillsides, open woods and fields. 



3. V. serpyllifolia L. Thyme-Leaved Speedwell. Perennial; 

 smooth or nearly so; branching and creeping below, but with nearly 

 simple ascending shoots, 2-4 in. high. Leaves slightly crenate, the 

 lowest ones petioled and roundish, those farther up ovate or oblong, 

 the uppermost ones mere bracts. Raceme loosely flowered. Corolla 

 nearly white or pale blue, beautifully striped with darker lines. Cap- 

 sule inversely heart-shaped, its width greater than its length. Damp, 

 grassy ground; a common weed in lawns. 



4. V. peregrina L. Purslane Speedwell. A homely, rather 

 fleshy, somewhat erect-branched annual weed, 4-9 in. high. Lowest 

 leaves petioled, oblong, somewhat toothed ; ■ those above them sessile, 

 the uppermost ones broadly linear and entire. Flowers solitary, in- 

 conspicuous, whitish, barely pediceled, appearing to spring from-, 

 the axils of the small floral leaves. Corolla shorter than the calyx. 

 Capsule roundish, barely notched, many-seeded. Common in damp • 

 ground, in fields and gardens. 



