Birdeye speedwell

Veronica persica is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. Common names include birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell. It is native to Eurasia and is widespread as an introduced species in the British Isles (where it was first recorded in 1825), North America, eastern Asia, including Japan and China, and Australia and New Zealand.

Description

Veronica persica is an annual that reproduces from seed.

Its cotyledons are triangular with truncated bases. The short-stalked leaves are broadly ovate with coarsely serrated margins, and measure one to two centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 in) long. The leaves are paired on the lower stem and are alternately arranged on the upper parts. The plant has weak stems that form a dense, prostrate groundcover. The tips of stems often grow upright.

The flowers are roughly one centimetre (0.4 in) wide and are sky-blue with dark stripes and white centers. They are zygomorphic, having only one vertical plane of symmetry. They are solitary on long, slender, hairy stalks in the leaf axils.

The seeds are transversely rugose and measure between one and two millimetres (0.04 and 0.08 in) long. There are five to 10 seeds per locule in the fruit.

Photographic examples can be seen on iNaturalist.

Similar species - Veronica persica fruit have lobes that widely diverge to form a spreading 'V', and solitary flowers emerging from the stem with the leaf stalks, whilst the flower stalks are regularly much longer than the leaves. Similar species include Veronica polita and Veronica agrestis (whose fruit lobes are parallel and flower stalks are shorter than or equal to the leaves), Veronica crista-galli (whose flowers and fruits are smaller than the calyx, and the calyx is formed of two bilobed parts not four unlobed parts), Veronica filiformis (whose small round leaves are smaller than or equal to the flowers]], Veronica chamaedrys and Veronica montana (whose flowers are not solitory but form short unleafy spikes of flowers), and Veronica hederifolia (whose flowers are small and leaf lobing has a different appearance).

Habitat

The plant grows in fields and lawns. It prefers moist conditions and grows well in loamy soil.

Horticultural uses

Although many species in the genus are used in gardens (such as V. exalta, V. incana, V. gentianoides, V. longifolia, V. perfoliata, and V. spicata), this species is generally seen as a weed and has no known horticultural uses.

Herbal medicine

Afghani herbalist, Mahomet Allum, used the plant to treat patients with heart trouble, in Adelaide, Australia, in the mid-20th century. It is also used for snakebite treatment, hemorrhaging, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and as an expectorant.

Further reading

• Fermanagh Species Account - Biological account from Farmanagh, Ireland

Photo Gallery

References