WILD FLOWERS BLUE AND PURPLE 
site pairs. The delicate little pale blue flower has 
four lobes, each of which is striped with a darker shade. 
The lower lobe is noticeably smaller and narrower 
than the outer three. The calyx is four-parted, and 
there are two opposite flaring stamens and a pistil. 
They are crowded on slender upright stems, which 
spring from the axils of the leaves, forming narrow 
spike-like arrangements. The flowers are remarkably 
fragile and drop away upon the slightest provocation, 
and especially so when an attempt is made to pick them. 
THYME-LEAVED SPEEDWELL 
Veronica serpyllifolia. Figwort Family. 
This small and nearly smooth perennial species has 
weak, slender stems which are much branched at their 
creeping base. It grows from two to ten inches in 
height and often lies close to the ground. The little 
oval or oblong leaves are indistinctly toothed, and 
occur in opposite pairs on short stems.. The tiny 
flowers resemble those of the American Brooklime, and 
are pale blue with darker stripes, or sometimes white 
in colour. The tips of the green calyx show between 
the divisions of the corolla, and the two spreading 
stamens are tipped with light blue. They are set on 
short stems springing from the axils of small leaflets, 
and are arranged in short terminal spikes. Though 
delicate in texture, they are much less fragile than those 
of most of the Speedwells.. It is found commonly in 
grassy fields and thickets, and along highways from 
April to August, and ranges from Labrador to Alaska, 
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