Veronica syriaca
Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Veronica syriaca, the Syrian speedwell, is a flowering plant species in the family Plantaginaceae.
| Veronica syriaca | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Veronica |
| Species: | V. syriaca |
| Binomial name | |
| Veronica syriaca Roem. & Schult. | |
Description
It is an annual plant. It is pubescent-glandular and up to 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) tall. The leaves are ovate, crenulate or dentate.
Blooming from January to May, the flowers are in loose racemes. The bracts are linear and entire. The pedicels are filiform, spreading-erect, sometimes recurved at the apex. The calyx lobes are ovate-Ianceolate, 2–3 millimetres (1⁄16–1⁄8 in). The corolla is blue and white, 8–15 mm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) in diameter.
Etymology
The generic name of this flower is of unknown origin. Some think it is a distortion of betonica, the Latin name of a species of Labiates;[1] others consider that it refers to Saint Veronica who handed a cloth to Christ to wipe the perspiration from his face.[2]