''Veronica persica'' 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 ...

in 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 ...

. Common names include birdeye speedwell, common field-speedwell, Persian speedwell, large field speedwell, bird's-eye, or winter speedwell. It is native to

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

and is widespread as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

(where it was first recorded in 1825), North America, eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, including Japan and China, and Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Description

''Veronica persica'' is an annual that reproduces from seed. Its

cotyledon A cotyledon (; ; ; , gen. (), ) is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a germinating seed." The num ...

s are triangular with truncated bases. The short-stalked leaves are broadly ovate with coarsely serrated margins, and measure long. The leaves are paired on the lower stem and are alternately arranged on the upper parts. The plant has weak stems that form a dense, prostrate groundcover. The tips of stems often grow upright. The flowers are roughly wideRhoads, A. F. and T. A. Block. ''Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual'', 2nd ed. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. 2007. and are sky-blue with dark stripes and white centers. They are

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

, having only one vertical plane of symmetry. They are solitary on long, slender, hairy stalks in the

leaf axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

s. The seeds are transversely rugose and measure between long. There are five to 10 seeds per locule in the fruit. ''Veronica persica'' can be distinguished from similar species by its heart-shaped fruit with two widely-separated lobes.Blamey, M., et al. 2003. ''Wild flowers of Britain and Ireland: The Complete Guide to the British and Irish Flora.'' A & C Black, London.Gleason, H. A. and A. Cronquist. ''Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada'', 2nd ed. New York Botanical Gardens, New York, New York. 1991.

Habitat

The plant grows in fields and lawns. It prefers moist conditions and grows well in loamy soil.

Horticultural uses

Although many species in the genus are used in gardens (such as '' V. exalta'', '' V. incana'', '' V. gentianoides'', '' V. longifolia'', '' V. perfoliata'', and '' V. spicata''),Thomas, G. S. ''Perennial Garden Plants or the Modern Florilegium'', 2nd ed. J. M. Dent and Sons, London. 1992. this species is generally seen as a weed''Veronica persica''.
USDA Plants Database. and has no known horticultural uses.

Herbal medicine

Afghani

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

Mahomet Allum Mohamet Allum ( – 21 March 1964), also known as Muhammad Alam Khan and nicknamed "The Wonder Man", was an Afghan herbalist based in Adelaide, South Australia. He arrived as one of the Afghan cameleers brought into Australia to work on the ca ...

, used the plant to treat patients with heart trouble, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia, in the mid-20th century. It is also used for snakebite treatment, hemorrhaging, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and as an expectorant. Veronica persica 183115889.jpg VeronicaPersicaFruit.jpg, Unripe fruit

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q157397 persica Plants described in 1808