Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Germander Speedwell
Veronica chamaedrys
- Family: Figwort Family – Scrophulariaceae
- Browing form: Perennial rhizomatous herb.
- Height: 10–35 cm (4–14 in.). Stem erect–ascending, hairy (hairs in two opposite rows).
- Flower: Corolla slightly irregular (zygomorphic), wheel-shaped, short-tubed, 4-lobed, blue–pink, ca. 10 mm (0.4 in.) wide. Calyx 4-lobed, glandular-hairy. Stamens 2. Pistil of 2 fused carpels. Inflorescence an axillary raceme, usu. in pars.
- Leaves: Opposite. Lowermost short-stalked, others stalkless. Blade ovate with blunt base and toothed margins, hairy on both sides.
- Fruit: A hairy, flattened, heart-shaped capsule.
- Habitat: Moist meadows, lawns, grazed woods, forest clearings.
- Flowering time: May–August.
The germander speedwell has a creeping rhizome that grows underneath the litter layer. With its help, the plant forms patch-like clones. Adventitious roots grow from the nodes of the rhizome.
The flower of the germander speedwell is short-lived. It opens in the morning as bright blue and filled with nectar. By the end of the same day it has faded to pink. At the mouth of the corolla tube, there is a white area from which dark stripes lead to the edges of the corolla-lobes. This colour pattern forms a nectar guide which directs pollinating insects towards the nectar – and the sexual organs of the flower. In the evening of the second day the corolla withers. Like the heath speedwell (V. officinalis), the germander speedwell has been used for making herb tee.
