Veronica hederifolia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Veronica |
Species: | V. hederifolia |
Binomial name | |
Veronica hederifolia | |
Veronica hederifolia, the ivy-leaved speedwell, [1] is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and north Africa [2] and it is present in other places as an introduced species and a common weed. Solitary blue flowers occur in leaf axils, each with a corolla up to one centimetre (0.4 in) wide. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule.
It is an annual herb with procumbent to climbing stems up to 60 centimetres (24 in) long. The stems are green to purplish, round, with abundant spreading, wavy hairs 1 mm long (but forming a thick line along one side of the stem). The leaves are opposite, becoming alternate higher up the stem, with 4–15 mm long petioles and no stipules. The blades are divided shallowly into 5 lobes, like ivy, (sometimes 3–7 lobes or entire), darker above than below, up to 1.5 cm long, and are downy above and below with long hairs on the margins. [3]
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils on pedicels up to 18 mm long. The calyx has four triangular lobes which expand after flowering. There are 4–5 pale lilac petals, 2 mm long, with darker veins. There are 2 stamens, with blue anthers, and one style. The fruits are glabrous, 2-celled (sometimes 1–3) capsules. [3]
It was named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753. The specific epithet "hederifolia" simply means "ivy-leaved."
There are three subspecies: hederifolia, lucorum (Klett & Richt.) Hartl and insularis Gamisans. The latter occurs only in Corsica. [4]
It is thought to be native to southern Europe and widely naturalised outside that range, including in northern Europe as far as Scandinavia, in the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and scattered places elsewhere. [4] [5]
In Britain, it is ubiquitous throughout the lowlands, becoming rare only in the mountains of Cumbria and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In Ireland it has a similarly south-easterly distribution, fading out in the west. [5]
In Britain, it is mainly associated with inhabited areas, being common in towns and villages where it grows in gardens, hedges, road sides and on waste ground. It is also found, less commonly, in arable fields and more wild places. It is a lowland plant; its maximum recorded altitude was 380 m at Malham Moor in Yorkshire (although that was in 1888, so it might have been an atypical occurrence). [6]
Malva moschata, the musk mallow or musk-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to the British Isles and Poland, and east to southern Russia and Turkey. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and foliage, and pink saucer-shaped flowers in summer.
Veronica persica is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. Common names include birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell. It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species in the British Isles, North America, eastern Asia, including Japan and China, and Australia and New Zealand.
Aristolochia rotunda, commonly known as smearwort or round-leaved birthwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to Southern Europe.
Campanula cervicaria, the bristly bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. The plant is roughly hairy and the flowers are about 1–2 centimetres (0.4–0.8 in) long, light blue and are grouped together.
Campanula latifolia, the giant bellflower, is a species of bellflower in the family Campanulaceae. It is also known as the large campanula and the wide-leaved bellflower. It is native to Europe and western Asia and is widely grown as an ornamental plant.
Lamium maculatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe and temperate Asia.
Campanula persicifolia, the peach-leaved bellflower, is a flowering plant species in the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 1 m. Its flowers are cup-shaped and can be either lilac-blue or white. Its foliage is narrow and glossy with a bright green appearance.
Veronica serpyllifolia, the thyme-leaved speedwell or thymeleaf speedwell, is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to Europe, but can be found elsewhere on most continents as an introduced species.
Kickxia elatine is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, but it is present on other continents as an introduced species, and sometimes a noxious weed.
Kickxia spuria is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by several common names, including roundleaf cancerwort and round-leaved fluellen. It is native to Europe and Asia, but it is present on other continents as an introduced species, and sometimes a noxious weed. This is a low hairy herb with a creeping stem with many branches. It produces rounded, fuzzy leaves at wide intervals along the stem, and solitary snapdragon-like flowers. Each flower is up to 1.5 centimeters long with a narrow, pointed spur extending from the back. The lobes of the mouth are yellow, white, and deep purple, and the whole flower is fuzzy to hairy. The fruit is a spherical capsule about 4 millimeters long. This species is similar to its relative, Kickxia elatine, but for the shape of its leaves, and the hairy flower stalk, which is bare with Kickxia elatine.
Silene gallica is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by several common names, including common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, and windmill pink. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found throughout much of the temperate world as a common roadside weed.
Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,brook pimpernel.
Veronica filiformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is known by many common names, including slender speedwell, creeping speedwell, threadstalk speedwell and Whetzel weed. It is native to eastern Europe and western Asia, and it is known in many other regions as an introduced species.
Potamogeton obtusifolius, known as blunt-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant in the genus Potamogeton. It grows mainly in mesotrophic to eutrophic lakes, ponds and ditches, rarely in brackish water. It occurs primarily in Central Europe, the British Isles, Fennoscandia and eastern North America.
Geranium nodosum, the knotted crane's-bill, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Geraniaceae.
Hesperocodon hederaceus, synonym Wahlenbergia hederacea, also known as the ivy-leaved bellflower, is a species of flowering plant that is found throughout Europe. It is the only species in the genus Hesperocodon. The delicate, patch-forming, hairless perennial herb has thin, creeping stems about 20 cm in length. Its pale green leaves are long-stalked and have an ivy-shaped, rounded structure. These leaves can be described as having a cordate shape and are approximately 5–12 mm long and wide. The plant has erect, solitary, pale blue flowers in summer and autumn, with bell-shaped corolla with 5 short lobes. The flowers are 6–10 mm long x 5–8 mm wide and sit on fine stalks 1–4 cm long. It is suggested that the long pedicels are an adaptation to assist in seed dispersal.
Isotoma anethifolia is a small herbaceous plant in the family Campanulaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It has single, mostly white flowers in the leaf axils and slender stems.
Oenanthe aquatica, fine-leaved water-dropwort, is an aquatic flowering plant in the carrot family. It is widely distributed from the Atlantic coast of Europe to central Asia.
Goodenia blackiana, commonly known as Black's goodenia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a herb with egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and racemes of yellow flowers.
Dampiera rosmarinifolia, commonly known as rosemary dampiera, is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae.It is a perennial subshrub with linear leaves, mauve or purple flowers borne in leaf axils.