Veronica officinalis / heath speedwell

Adjectives: clonal, disturbed, exposed, forest openings, interesting bits, LSRP, non-native, rocky

Also known as: common gypsyweed, Paul’s betony

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Heath speedwell is a prostrate, herbaceous perennial with hairy green stems and leaves. It tends to cover the ground in mats, sending up short, erect, spike-like shoots bearing blue/violet flowers. These things distinguish it from other speedwells… and everything else. The leaves are up to 2 inches long and an inch wide.  In Wydaho, it flowers mostly in July. It is not native.

The individual flowers are tubular, but the tubes are short. They are also small… ca. ¼ inch across. Each flower has 4 petals with rounded margins. The upper 3 of these are similar in size while the lower one is distinctly narrower. Each petal is also streaked with darker, purple-ish lines. There are one slender style and 2 longer white stamens in each flower, long enough to project from the throat.

Behind the petals, the calyx also has 4 lobes, each about half the length of the petals, and there’s a leaf-like bract at the base of the short flower stalk. All of these parts are glandular-hairy (rather than just hairy). That means if you rub them, you might feel some oily liquid on your fingers, and they might even smell (not bad… go ahead, try it).

The heath speedwell fruit is a heart shaped capsule less than ¼ inch long and wide, and covered in glandular hairs. Inside are several flattened seeds. The seeds are only one means of propagation, however… there are also slender underground rhizomes.

Heath speedwell grows in a variety of habitats, from grove-like forests, to steep banks (both in gaps and in shade), and in a variety of dry or potentially dry places.

Interesting bits – Heath speedwell has been used for centuries as a cure-all medicinal which may well be why it was introduced  to North America sometime in the distant past. In addition, it may well have been used by the ancient Romans after they conquered Germany and found out about how cool it was. At that point, it was the go-to medicinal, used to cure everything, but alas, not necessarily successfully. Nevertheless, the plants contain various compounds which do have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. More research is needed.

Heath speedwell was claimed to repel witches, demons, devils and other assorted bogeymen, although this has never been proven. Or disproven. It has also been considered a lucky charm for travelers. Surely, it can’t hurt to give that a try.