Ontario Weeds: Thyme-leaved speedwell
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Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds,
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Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Flowers and Fruit
- Stems and Roots
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Related Links
Name: Thyme-leaved speedwell, Veronica
serpyllifolia L.,
Other Names: véronique à
feuilles de serpolet, Veronica, véronique à feuilles
de thym
Family: Figwort or Snapdragon Family (Scrophulariaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed and by spreading underground rhizomes and rooting stems.
Thyme-leaved speedwell, prostrate plant with upright flowering
stems.
Thyme-leaved speedwell. A. Plant. B. Flower. C. Seedpod.
Stems & Roots: Plants tufted
with spreading branches which soon curve upwards into erect stems,
or with horizontal stems rooting at nodes touching the ground and
producing short erect branches, or occasionally just single erect
stems from underground rhizomes; stems 10-30cm (4-12in.) high, somewhat
fleshy, very finely hairy; leaves on horizontal stems and lower
parts of erect stems, opposite (2 per node), oval to roundish or
broadly ovate, lacking teeth or with very fine teeth, stalkless,
with 3 to 5 main veins arising from the base of the leaf, the side
veins curving in towards the tip; on the upper parts of the stems
the leaves (or flower bracts) with flowers in their axils (angle
between leaf and stem) are usually alternate (1 per node) and smaller
than the lower opposite leaves.
Flowers & Fruit: Flowerstalk usually
shorter than its leafy bract; sepals 4, small; corolla flat with
4 lobes, pale bluish-white with blue lines or bright blue; stamens
2; seedpods flat, appearing soon after the blossom falls, deeply
notched at the tip, appearing 2-lobed, 4-8mm (1/6-1/3in.) wide,
broader than long. Flowers from late spring until late autumn.
Habitat: Thyme-leaved speedwell occurs
throughout Ontario in waste places, pastures, roadsides, meadows
and lawns. There are at least eight different kinds of speedwell
in Ontario and identification may be difficult.
Similar Species: It is distinguished by
its perennial habit, lower leaves opposite, somewhat roundish and
lacking teeth or with very fine teeth, its short-stalked flowers
with white or bluish 4-lobed corolla, its flowers stalk usually
shorter than the leafy bract just below it, and its seedpod notched
at the end.
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
For more information:
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E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca