Veronica. 



SCROPHULARIACEjE. 



41 



Perennial. Stems 3-8 inches long, rooting at the base. Leaves 4-6 lines long ; the 

 lower ones on short petioles, rather fleshy. Raceme erect ; the flowers on short pedicels, 

 sometimes opposite. Bracts elliptical. Corolla pale blue, or sometimes nearly white. Capsule 

 broader than long, much compressed, ciliate on the margin. Seeds 15 - 20, ovate, light 

 brown, flattened on one side. 



Pastures, meadows, road-sides, etc. ; very common. Introduced from Europe, and now 

 completely naturalized throughout the United States. May - August. 



2. Veronica officinalis, Linn. Common Speedwell. 



Stems procumbent, rooting at the base, pubescent ; leaves broadly ovate and obovate, 

 serrate, roughly pubescent; racemes spiked, axillary, pedunculate. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 12; 

 Engl. bot. t. 765 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 5 ; Pursh, fl. I. p. 10 ; Torr.fl. 1. p. 8 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. 

 p. 5 ; Beck, bot. p. 262 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 4. 



Perennial. Stems diffuse, 6-10 inches long; the branches ascending. Leaves opposite, 

 on short petioles, pale green. Spikes on long peduncles, which mostly arise from the lower 

 part of the stem. Corolla pale blue, with darker veins. Capsule pubescent. Seeds 8 - 10, 

 nearly round, flat on one side, yellowish. 



Dry woods and pastures ; not common. Introduced from Europe ? May - July. This 

 and some other species were formerly employed medicinally as tonics, and have also been 

 used as a substitute for tea. 



3. Veronica Beccabunga, Linn. BrooMime. 



Stems procumbent and rooting at the base ; leaves elliptical, obtuse, somewhat serrate, 

 smooth ; racemes opposite. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 12 ; Engl. bot. t. 655. 



- var. Americana : leaves ovate-lanceolate, all on short petioles, rather acute. V. Becca- 

 bunga, Pursh, fl. 1. p. 11 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 9 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 5 ; Beck, bot. p. 262 ; 

 Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 4. V. intermedia, Schwein. in Sill, journ. 8. p. 268. 



Whole plant smooth, rather succulent. Stem 8-15 inches high, rooting at the lower 

 joints. Leaves 1-2^ inches long and half an inch to an inch or more in breadth, sometimes 

 slightly cordate, but usually abruptly narrowed to a short petiole, never clasping ; the lowest 

 obtuse. Racemes axillary, slender, many-flowered ; the bracts lanceolate, shorter than the 

 finally diverging pedicels. Calyx-lobes oblong, acute. Corolla bright blue. Capsule roundish- 

 obcordate, compressed. Seeds numerous, ovoid, compressed. 



Muddy borders of small streams, and about springs ; frequent. July. This plant differs 

 in several respects from the European V. Beccabunga, and Mr. Schweinitz was perhaps 

 correct in regarding it as a distinct species. It is nearly allied to the following, and is doubt- 

 less often confounded with it by our botanists. 

 [Flora — Vol. 2.] 6 



