Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Lamiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Veronica officinalis
FAMILY
Plantaginaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Common Speedwell at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Veronica officinalis
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Veronica officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17 (2019)
Veronica officinalis
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Veronica officinalis var. officinalis
INCLUDING Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Veronica officinalis var. tournefortii
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-20-010:
Veronica officinalis FAMILY Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Veronica officinalis
COMMON NAME:
Common Speedwell, Gypsyweed, Heath Speedwell
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_veof2_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_339
)
Keith Bradley kab_v_officinalis_1083
May Henderson County NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_v_officinalis_4
May
Flowers in spikelike racemes, with extremely short pedicels, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm090607_026
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
A hairy, reclining mat-forming plant with thick toothed elliptic leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm090607_026c
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Corolla light blue, sometimes with darker lines, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090607_031
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5731
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5733
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5740
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5744
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5746
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow s090607_04
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers less than 1/4" across; leaves up to 2" long, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow s090607_06
June Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Veronica officinalis
FAMILY
Plantaginaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Veronica officinalis
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Veronica officinalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 17
Veronica officinalis
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Veronica officinalis var. officinalis
INCLUDING
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Veronica officinalis var. tournefortii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 166-20-010:
Veronica officinalis
FAMILY
Scrophulariaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Veronica officinalis
1614
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Fields and forests; often interpreted as being of mixed native and alien background in North America, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in SC Mountains & GA Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite (upper bracteal leaves opposite as well)
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Lilac-blue
Bilaterally symmetrical
4 sepals
4-lobed rotate corolla
2 well exserted stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in axillary spikelike racemes
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p096
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p411
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p248
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p292
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p158
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".