Veronica verna L.
spring speedwell
Plantaginaceae (Mare's-tail family)
(Previously in Scrophulariaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jamie Fenneman     (Photo ID #14620)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Veronica verna
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, 3-15 cm tall, simple to branched at the base, hairy, also glandular above especially in the inflorescence.
Leaves:
Opposite, short-stalked below, unstalked above, egg-shaped to broadly elliptic, about 1 cm long, some pinnately 3- to 7-lobed, hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a terminal, bracted, glandular-hairy, relatively dense raceme of several to many short-stalked flowers, the bracts alternate, the lowermost leaflike, reduced and entire and narrower than the leaves upward; corollas blue to blue-violet, inconspicuous, 2-3 mm across, irregularly 4-lobed, the lobes much longer than the short tube, the upper lobe largest, the lowest lobe narrower than the others; calyces glandular-hairy, 3-5 mm long, deeply 4-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, unequal; styles short, 0.5-0.6 mm long; stamens 2.
Fruits:
Capsules, about 3 mm long, flattened, heart-shaped, slightly wider than long, distinctly notched at the tip, glandular-hairy; seeds 8 to 12 per chamber, flat, smooth, about 1 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Veronica verna

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)
907 625 1280
Slope Gradient (%)
40 1 68

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

223 160 278
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 2 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
7
Modal BEC Zone Class
ICH

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

ICH(7)

Habitat and Range

Dry meadows, grasslands and waste places in the steppe zone; frequent in SC and SE BC; introduced from Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia