Veronica peregrina L.
purslane speedwell (neckweed)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
purslane speedwell (neckweed)
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Annual herb from a short taproot and fibrous roots; stems erect or ascending, 5-30 cm tall, simple or branched at the base, glandular-hairy or smooth.
Leaves:
Opposite, unstalked or the lowermost tapering to a stalk-like base, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, 0.5-3 cm long, irregularly toothed or entire, usually smooth.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal, bracted, elongate, lax raceme of several to many, very short-stalked (0.5-1.5 mm) flowers, the bracts alternate, gradually reduced upward; corollas whitish, inconspicuous, 2-3 mm across, irregularly 4-lobed; calyces short glandular-hairy or smooth, 3-6 mm long, deeply 4-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, unequal; styles very short, 0.1-0.4 mm long; stamens 2.
Fruits:
Capsules, 3-4 mm long, flattened, heart-shaped, about as wide as long, broadly notched at the tip, glandular-hairy or smooth; seeds numerous, 0.4-1 mm long.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Plants smooth; rare on Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley..................... var. peregrina
1. Plants short stalked-glandular in the inflorescences and on the capsules; the frequent variety....................... var. xalapensis (H.B.K.) St. John & Warren
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Veronica peregrina
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
829 | 614 | 1036 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
10 | 0 | 30 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
165 | 142 | 190 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
9 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
PP | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
IDF(2), PP(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet roadsides, ditches, streambanks, vernal pools, meadows and clearings; frequent throughout S BC, rare northward (var. xalapensis), and rare (var. peregrina) on Vancouver Island and the lower Fraser Valley, where probably introduced from eastern N America; var. xalapensis - E to PQ and NS and S to NH, PA, FL, AL, AR, TX , NM, AZ, CA and MX.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Veronica peregrina var. xalapensis (Kunth) Pennell
Veronica sherwoodii M. Peck
Veronica xalapensis Kunth