SPECIES DESCRIPTION
VERONICA HEDERIFOLIA subsp. HEDERIFOLIA
Family and Genus:- See- PLANTAGINACEAE/Sect. POCILLA
Common Names:- Ivy-leaved speedwell
Homotypic Synonyms:- Veronica triloba
Meaning:- Veronica (L) For Saint Veronica, who wiped the sweat from Christ's
face.
Hederifolia (L) Having leaves similar to those Hedera i.e. ivy-like
General description:- Low sprawling, hairy annual.
Stems:-
1) 10-60 cm, procumbent.
Leaves:-
1) 5-15 mm, petiolate, suborbicular in outline, thick, deeply 3(5)-lobed; middle lobe
much wider than long.
Flowers:-
1) Solitary in the leaf-axils.
2) Pedicels, not more than 2½ times as long as the calyx, usually glabrous except
for an adaxial row of short hairs.
3) Calyx-segments 4-5 mm, cordate-ovate, acute, long-ciliate but otherwise
glabrous, erect or suberect in fruit.
4) Corolla, 6-9 mm diam, pale blue with a whitish centre.
5) Style, c. 1 mm.
Fruit:-
1) Capsule, c. 4 x 4 mm, subglobose, shallowly 4-lobed, glabrous.
2) Seeds, c. 2·5 x 2·25 mm, suborbicular, cupuliform
Key features:-
1) Petiole, usually 4-6 mm.
2) Leaves, (3-)5-lobed.
3) Fruiting pedicel, (2-)3-4 times as long as the calyx.
5) Calyx, long-ciliate but otherwise glabrous.
6) Corolla, 6-9 mm in diam, pale blue with a whitish centre
Habitat:- Fields, orchards, open woodland, usually in somewhat damp, shady
places. 0-1000(-1600) m.
Distribution:- Throughout mainland Greece, Widespread throughout the
Mediterranean region. Rare on Crete known from only a few locations.
Flowering time:- Mar-May.
Photos by:- Kind permission of Saxifraga - Free Nature Images
