384 SCROPHULARIACEAE (FIGWORT FAMILY) 
A frequent weed of upland pastures; its stoloniferous habit 
causes it to form patches or colonies, crowding out the larger and 
more nutritious forage plants. 
Stems three to ten inches long, softly hairy, usually decumbent 
at the base and rooting at the lower joints, the flowering stalks 
Fic. 268. — Com- 
mon Speedwell (Ve- 
ronica officinalis). 
x }. 
erect. Leaves opposite, or the upper ones 
alternate, obovate to elliptical, a half-inch to an 
inch long, obtuse, softly hairy on both sides, 
finely toothed, the lower ones narrowing to 
short, margined petioles. Flowers in slender, 
spike-like racemes densely crowded on very 
short pedicels; corolla four-parted, the lower 
lobe less than half as large as the others, pale 
blue or whitish, marked with dark blue or 
violet lines, the whole flower only about a 
quarter-inch broad. Stamens two, one on each 
side of the upper lobe of the corolla, exserted ; 
one slender style with stigma single; calyx with 
four narrow pointed lobes, longer than the pedi- 
cel. Capsule heart-shaped, two-celled, about an 
eighth of an inch broad, filled with fine, yellow, 
flattened seeds. (Fig. 268.) 
This Speedwell is a medicinal herb, and its 
leaves and flowering tops, collected when the 
plant is in full bloom and carefully dried, are 
worth three to five cents a pound. 
Means of control 
In lawns and yards, hoe-cutting and reseed- 
ing; in fields, cultivation of the ground; crowding out with 
clover. 
THYME-LEAVED SPEEDWELL 
Verénica serpyllifilia, L. 
Native and introduced. Perennial. Propagates by seeds and by 
rooting at the joints. 
Time of bloom: 
April to October. 
