Ontario Weeds: Corn speedwell

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Flowers and Fruit
6. Stems and Roots
7. Habitat
8. Similar Species
9. Related Links

Name: Corn speedwell, Veronica arvensis L.,

Other Names: véronique des champs, Veronica

Family: Figwort or Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae)

General Description: Annual or possibly winter annual, reproducing only by seed.

Photos and Pictures

Corn speedwell, in a lawn.

Corn speedwell. A. Plant. B. Seedpod.

Stems & Roots: Stems erect, or spreading from the base and becoming erect, 5-30cm (2-12in.) long, somewhat hairy; lower and middle leaves opposite (2 per node), lowermost pairs with short stalks but the middle ones stalkless, ovate or elliptic, palmately veined (with 3 or more veins fanning out from the base), hairy on both surfaces; margins with slightly rounded teeth; upper leaves alternate (1 per node), smaller, narrower, without teeth, each with a flower in its axil.

Flowers & Fruit: Flowers on very short stalks; sepals 4, small; corolla blue-violet, flat, 2-2.5mm (1/12-1/10in.) wide with 4 lobes and 2 tiny stamens: seedpods roundly heart-shaped, with a deep notch at the top. Flowers in late May and June and again in autumn.

Habitat: Corn speedwell occurs in southern Ontario in pastures, waste places, roadsides, lawns and cultivated fields.

Similar Species: It is distinguished by its annual or winter annual habit, its somewhat rounded, toothed leaves, its tiny blue-violet flowers and its almost stalkless, rounded, heart-shaped seedpods.

Related Links

... on general Weed topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

 

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