''Veronica derwentiana'', commonly known as Derwent speedwell, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

species of the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older cl ...

, endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a perennial with toothed leaves and white or pale blue flowers in terminal sprays in spring and summer.

Description

''Veronica derwentiana'' is a woody herb which grows to high with numerous upright stems from a woody rootstock. The stems are smooth or have small hairs lying longitudinal, occasionally on the whole surface and not branched below the flowers. The stems remain for up to 2 years. The leaves are long, lance to egg-shaped and ending in a sharp point or tapering to a point. The leaves vary at the base and may be wedge, squared, or heart shaped on a small broad stalk or without a stalk. The leaf margin has 30-80 small pointed teeth. The calyx lobes are long, either smooth or with occasional short hairs. The flower petals are long, white, pale lilac or pale blue in

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

of 40-100 flowers. The seed capsule is narrow or broadly egg-shaped, long, wide and either smooth or with short hairs on the upper side and somewhat lustrous. Flowering occurs in summer.

Taxonomy and naming

''Veronica derwentiana'' was first formally described by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (floruit, fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Charles, until a reco ...

in 1808 and the description was published in ''The Botanist's Repository for New and Rare Plants''. The species was named after the type form where it was found near the Derwent River Tasmania. There are five subspecies described and accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: *''V.'' ''derwentiana'' Andrews subsp. ''derwentiana''; *''V.'' ''derwentiana'' subsp. ''homalodonta'' (B.G.Briggs & Ehrend.) B.G.Briggs; *''V.'' ''derwentiana'' subsp. ''maideniana'' (Gand.) B.G.Briggs; *''V.'' ''derwentiana'' subsp. ''subglauca'' (B.G.Briggs & Ehrend.) B.G.Briggs; *''V.'' ''derwentiana'' subsp. ''anisodonta'' (B.G.Briggs & Ehrend.) B.G.Briggs.

Distribution and habitat

Derwent speedwell occurs in a variety of habitats including eucalypt forest and alpine herb fields in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It is often seen on disturbed sites.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922475 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) derwentiana Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews