Common speedwell
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Veronica officinalis L.
Common name(s): common speedwell, gypsyweed, common gypsyweed
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile , NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- in flower, early June
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- mid-June
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- flower detail
Description:
-perennial
-generally flowers June, July in ME
-simple opposite leaves
-may be confused with V. chamaedrys; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-anthropogenic disturbed areas
-meadows
-fields
Natural History:
-Introduced from Europe
-traditionally used as a remedy for coughs or a salve
Source(s):
Hansen, R.W., S.B. Hansen and E.A. Osgood. 1991. Reproductive phenologies of selected flowering plants in eastern Maine forests. ME Agric. Exp. Station Tech. Bull. 143. 17 pp.
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.\
Go Botany. “Veronica Officinalis L.” Veronica Officinalis (Common Speedwell): Go Botany, 2020, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/veronica/officinalis/.