Images: ©Jouko Lehmuskallio
Heath Speedwell
Veronica officinalis
- Synonym: Common Speedwell
- Family: Figwort Family – Scrophulariaceae
- Height: 10–30 cm (4–12 in.). Stem creeping-ascending, branched, hairy.
- Flower: Almost regular, ca. 8 mm (0.3 in.) across. Petals 4, united, pale lilac, corolla wheel-shaped, with a short tube. Sepals 4, united. Stamens 2. Pistil formed from 2 fused carpels. Inflorescence a 3–6 cm (1.2–2.4 in.) long, dense raceme, often in pairs.
- Leaves: Opposite. Short-stalked, hairy, blade elliptic to ovate, with toothed margins.
- Fruit: An oval to slightly heart-shaped capsule with the persistent style attached between the lobes. Fruit 5 mm (0.2 in.) long, longer than calyx.
- Habitat: Wooded rock outcrops, mixed forests, forest clearings, grazed woodland, dryish hillside meadows.
- Flowering time: June–August.
The heath speedwell is a creeping to ascending perennial. Its roots penetrate deep into the ground, and the leaves stay green through the winter. This species thrives in damp, rich woods. It also favours meadow slopes and dry grassland, and occurs in lawns too. In central Finland the heath speedwell is an archaeophyte. The plant has been used as a medicine against cough, and as tea.
