Veronica anagallis-aquatica (Water Speedwell) - photos and description
General: Plants decumbent to erect, foliage light green in colour. Plants glabrous.
Flowers: Flowers in racemes from upper leaf axils, flowers light violet to near white in colour, measured at 8 mm diameter.
Leaves: Leaves opposite, elliptical to ovate, sessile, opposite. Leaf measured at 55 mm long by 28 mm wide.
Height: Height measured to 27 cm tall.
Habitat: Wet places in the boreal forest and Cypress Hills.
Abundance: Listed as common in Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Saskatchewan.
Origin: Native.
Synonyms: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Veroncia comosa, and, Veronica catenata.
How to identify this species: The nomenclature for
this species is very confusing with the field guides we use listing different
synonyms.
Aspects of this plant key to both V.
anagallis-aquatica, and, V. catenata as described below in
the key from The Flora of Canada.
The plant keys to V. comosa
(syn. V. catenata) in Budd's Flora, however that guide does
not list V. anagallis-aquatica at all.
The plant keys to V.
catenata in Flora of Alberta which also doesn't list V.
anagallis-aquatica.
I'm going to follow Checklist of the Vascular
Plants of Saskatchewan which only lists V. anagallis-aquatica with
V. comosa and. V. catenata as its synonyms.
Therefore, this plant is V.
anagallis-aquatica.
From The Flora of Canada:
16 Stem glabrous or minutely glandular, decumbent or creeping at base; capsule glabrous or glandular, reniform or suborbicular, turgid, shorter than or slightly surpassing the calyx, style to 3 mm long.
21 Leaves mostly lance-ovate, broadest toward base, acute or
acutish, shallowly serrate; style about 3 mm long; lower fruiting pedicels to
over 1
cm long; stem decumbent or short-creeping (transcontinental) ……………..
V. americana
21 Description for a plant not in our province (introd.) ……
V. beccabunga
20 Leaves sessile, at least the upper ones cordate-clasping.
22 Capsule ovate to subglobose, barely notched, about as long
as broad or a little longer, not surpassing the acute or acuminate sepals, on a
usually rather strongly ascending pedicel; corolla pale lavender-violet, 4
or 5 mm broad; principal leaves lance- to obovate-oblong, commonly
less than
3 times as long as broad (introd.) ……………… V. anagallis-aquatica
22 Capsule broadly obcordate to round-reniform, deeply
notched, mostly a little broader than long, longer than the obtuse or
short-pointed
sepals, on a usually widely spreading pedicel; corolla whitish
or pale pink to roseate, smaller; principal leaves lanceolate to lance-oblong,
to about
5 times as long as broad ……………… V. catenata
When and where photographed: Took the above photos July 26th, in a forest stream in the boreal forest, Duck Mountain provincial park, and August 22nd and 23rd, damp ground around pools of water, edge of sphagnum bog, boreal forest, about 400 km north east of our home in Regina, SK.