Veronica officinalis L.
Common speedwell, common gypsyweed
Common speedwell is well established in North America, but it is a European import that escaped cultivation, originally from Europe and Asia. It occupied an area at the edge of my lawn until goldenrods eventually got the upper hand.
Plants: These plants are inconspicuous, forming mats by creeping, 2–10″ (5–25 cm) in height. Stems are hairy and branched, mostly lying on the ground.
Leaves: Ovate to elliptic, narrowing at the base, ½–2″ (1.3–5 cm) long, opposite, and toothed.
Flowers: bilaterally symmetrical, on spikes (racemes); flowers appear only on the upper portions of the flower stems. Flowers are irregular in shape, ⅛″ (5 mm) in size, and pale blue, violet, or pinkish purple in color. They appear from April to July.
Fruits: A heart shaped capsule less than ¼″ (6.3 mm) in size, covered in glandular hairs. Inside are several flattened seeds.
Habitats: Dry fields, grasslands, and woods; did I mention my lawn?.
Medical: Speedwell is used in a bitter, tangy tea as an expectorant; also as a diaphoretic, diuretic, and general tonic. It contains aucubin, a glycoside with anti-inflammatory, diuretic and liver protective actions. Studies of its liver-protective functions appear promising. Like other common plants, it has been used for many other purposes which have not been confirmed with studies and are now generally discredited: abdominal complaints; as a general cure-all; a cancer treatment; for treatment of eczema; to speed healing of minor wounds; as a “blood purifier;” a kidney stimulant; an antiasthmatic; and a treatment for small pox and measles. It contains vitamins E, K, and C; antioxidant phenols; β-sisterol, sometimes used to reduce cholesterol; and omega-3 fatty acids.
Online References:
References:
6/9/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
6/9/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 6″ (12 × 14 cm) 
6/5/2021 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (12 × 10 cm) 
8/16/2020 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
7/20/2021 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 6″ (19 × 14 cm) 
6/20/2021 · Maquoit Bay Preserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 4″ (11 × 11 cm) 
5/30/2010 · Hayes Wood Conservation Trail, Shirley St., Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 3½″ (7.9 × 9.1 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
6/24/2024 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 5″ (11 × 13 cm) 
5/27/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts ID is uncertain 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
4/11/2008 · Memphis, Tennessee · By Tim Chandler 
5/30/2010 · Hayes Wood Conservation Trail, Shirley St., Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain 
5/30/2010 · Hayes Wood Conservation Trail, Shirley St., Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 4½″ (12 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain 
6/9/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 4″ (13 × 11 cm) 
9/29/2013 · South Bubble Hike, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 4 × 2½″ (10 × 6.4 cm) 
7/16/2010 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts ID is uncertain 
6/10/2016 · Monhegan Island, Maine 
6/14/2017 · J. Harry Rich State Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
6/5/2021 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 4″ (12 × 10 cm) 
6/20/2021 · Maquoit Bay Preserve, Brunswick, Maine · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 12 cm) 
8/17/2020 · Otter Brrok Preserve, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 7″ (16 × 18 cm) 
9/4/2020 · Widgeon Cove Trail, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 5″ (10 × 13 cm) 
5/30/2010 · Hayes Wood Conservation Trail, Shirley St., Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Plantaginaceae | Plantains |
| Genus | Veronica | For Saint Veronica, said to have given Jesus a cloth to wipe his face on the way to Calvary, and named because of a supposed resemblence between markings on some Veronica species and her sacred handkerchief |
| Species | officinalis | Latin for “of the shops, sold in the marketplace, official” |
Veronica officinalis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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