Veronica officinalis
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2016) |
Veronica officinalis | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Plantaginaceae |
Genus: | Veronica |
Species: | V. officinalis
|
Binomial name | |
Veronica officinalis |
Veronica officinalis, the heath speedwell,[1] common gypsyweed,[2] common speedwell, or Paul's betony, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia. It has been introduced to North America and is widely naturalised there.
Description
It is a herbaceous perennial with hairy green stems 10–50 cm (3.9–19.7 in) long that cover the ground in mats and send up short vertical shoots which bear soft violet flowers. The leaves are 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in) and 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) broad, and softly hairy.
It flowers from May until August.
Cultivation and uses
This speedwell grows in open areas, such as fields, meadows and gardens, where it is sometimes grown as an edible, or medicinal herb.[3]
The slightly bitter and astringent taste and tea-like smell of speedwell led to its use as a tea substitute in 19th-century France, where it was called thé d'Europe, or "Europe tea". The French still use this term as a name for speedwell.[4]
References
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Veronica officinalis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "Veronica officinalis". PFAF.
- ^ Pharmacopoea Bavarica Iussu Regio Edita (in Latin). Munich: Joseph Lindauer. 1822. p. 132.
External links
Media related to Veronica officinalis at Wikimedia Commons
- Skye FloraError: "Q156402" is not a valid Wikidata entity ID.
- CS1 Latin-language sources (la)
- Articles with short description
- Articles needing additional references from June 2016
- All articles needing additional references
- Articles with 'species' microformats
- Commons link is the pagename
- Taxonbars desynced from Wikidata
- Taxonbar pages requiring a Wikidata item
- Taxonbars with invalid from parameters
- Taxonbars without secondary Wikidata taxon IDs
- Medicinal plants
- Veronica (plant)
- Flora of Europe
- Flora of the Caucasus
- Flora of Western Asia
- Plants described in 1753
- Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus