Species

Veronica javanica

Etymology

Veronica: Named after Saint Veronica, who gave Jesus her veil to wipe his brow as he carried the cross through Jerusalem, perhaps because the common name of this plant is 'speedwell'. The name Veronica is often believed to derive from the Latin vera 'truth' and iconica 'image', but it is actually derived from the Macedonian name Berenice which means 'bearer of victory'.

Common Name(s)

Javan Speedwell

Authority

Veronica javanica Blume

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Habitat

Weed of nurseries - often as a contaminant of potted up plants, also found as a casual of recently planted land (spread from nurseries).

Features

Annual, decumbent or ascending herb to about 15 cm. tall, much branched; branches up to 25 cm. long, usually densely greyish-white pilose. Leaves opposite; lamina 5.5–25 x 5–16 mm., broadly ovate, apex obtuse, truncate, subcuneate to subcordate, obtuse at base, coarsely creante-serrate, of ten less densely pilose above, subglabrescent; petiole 1.5–2(3.5) mm. long. Racemes axillary, 1.5–2.5 mm. long, few-flowered; flowers blue to whitish, bracteate. Bracts 2–2.3 x 0.4–0.5 mm., narrowly oblong, obtuse, shortly ciliate. Pedicels 0.5–1 mm. long, stout. Calyx 1.8–2.5 mm. long at flowering, up to 3.4 mm. long in fruit; lobes 0.5–1 mm. wide, oblong to obovate-oblong, obtuse, glabrous to sparsely pilose, ciliate. Corolla up to 2 mm. long. Capsule 1.25–2.6 x 2.25–2.8 mm., broadly obcordate in outline, compressed, glabrous, ciliate on suture.

Similar Taxa

Stachys arvensis from which it differs by its smaller lilac to lavender flowers which scarcely open, and larger broadly obcordate, flattened capsules which open widely to expose numerous greenish-yellow to yellow-brown fine seeds

Flowering

Summer

Flower Colours

Blue,White

Fruiting

Summer

Year Naturalised

2007

Origin

Presumably Java though recorded from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Malesia, and Indonesia.

Control Techniques

<b>Disposal Method</b><br>Hand pull, spray, and sterilise contaminated soil<br><br><b>Preferred Control</b><br>Hand pull and spray<br><br><b>Alternative Control</b><br>Spray and sterilise contaminated soil and potting mix<br><br>

Reason For Introduction
Accidental

Life Cycle Comments
Short lived perennial

Reproduction
By seed

Seed
Freely produced

Dispersal
In garden waste and compost, seed dispersed in air and water

Tolerances
Probably cold sensitive - not likely to be a major threat

This page last updated on 20 Jan 2010