''Veronica derwentiana'', commonly known as Derwent speedwell, is a flowering plant species of the family Plantaginaceae, 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 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 are long, either smooth or with occasional short hairs. The flower petals are long, white, pale lilac or pale blue in racemes 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 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: *''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, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. 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