''Veronica calycina'', commonly known as hairy speedwell or cup speedwell, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is a trailing perennial with dark green leaves, purple-blue flowers and is endemic to Australia.

Description

''Veronica calycina'' grows is a trailing, perennial herb, with

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s reaching long and rooting at leaf nodes. The flowering stems are up to long with soft stem hairs to long. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, usually hairy, ovate to broadly ovate, long and wide, apex either rounded or broadly pointed, base squared or slightly heart-shaped, margins with uneven, blunt teeth and a petiole long. The small racemes of pale blue-purple flowers are mostly in groups of up to 10 flowers, occasionally solitary, with four wide petals about long, and

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

long. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

lobes have small hairs mostly on the margins, long and wide when fruiting. Flowering occurs in spring and summer.

Taxonomy

''Veronica calycina'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''calycina'') means "belonging to the calyx".

Distribution

''Hairy speedwell'' is a widespread species, found in all states and territories apart from the Northern Territory. It grows in sheltered forest and shrubland on the coast, ranges and at higher altitudes in shady, moist locations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17743450 Flora of New South Wales

calycina ''Calycina'' is a genus of fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are clas ...

Plants described in 1810