Horticulture/Veronica

Speedwells Veronica chamaedrys - Külmamailane.jpg Veronica Plantaginaceae Annuals, Perennials, Shrubs Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family ../Plantaginaceae/, with about 500 species; it was formerly classified in the family ../Scrophulariaceae/. Taxonomy for this genus is currently being reanalysed, with the genus Hebe and the related Australasian genera Derwentia, Detzneria, Chionohebe, Heliohebe, Leonohebe and Parahebe included by many botanists. Common names include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed. The species are herbaceous annuals or perennials, and also shrubs or small trees if Hebe is included. Most of the species are from the temperate Northern Hemisphere, though with some species from the Southern Hemisphere; Hebe is mostly from New Zealand. Description Flowers are perfect, irregular, 4-5 parted. Ovary 2-celled. 2 showy stamens are a good ID characteristic for the genus. The foliage is opposite (but alternate near the flowers), simple, with dentate or entire margins. Fruits are dry capsules containing many small seeds. Roots are fibrous, and often adventitions on the stems. Growing conditions Species Uses Maintenance Propagation Harvesting Pests and diseases ../Powdery Mildew/ ../Peronospora grisea/ ../Sphaerotheca humili/ ../Leaf Spots/ Cercospora tortipes Gloeosporium veronicae Septoria veronicae ../Leaf Galls/ Sorosphaera veronicae Synchytrium globosum ../Root Rots/ ../Fusarium/ ../Pellicularia filamentosa/ ../Phymatotrichum omnivorum/ ../Stem Rots/ ../Pellicularia rolfsii/ ../Leaf Smuts/ Entyloma veronicae ../Nematodes/ Root knot nematode: ../Meliodgyne incognita/ ../Scales/ ../Bugs/ Fourlined Plant Bug: ../Poecilocapsus lineatus/ ../Beetles/ Japanese Weevil: ../Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus/ ../Caterpillars/ Checkerspot Butterfly: ../Euphydryas chalcedona/ w:Grizzled Skipper. References Britton Nathaniel Lord Nathaniel Lord Britton Addison Brown An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Volume 3 second edition 1913 Dover Publications, inc. 199-203 Ann Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block Anna Anisko, illustrator The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual 2000 Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania Press 676-680 P. D. Strausbaugh and Earl L. Core Flora of West Virginia Second 1977 Seneca Books, Grantsville, W. Virginia 852-859 Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants 1997 DK Publishing 1046-1047 Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada 1976 Cornell University Press 1150-1152 Pirone Pascal P. Diseases & Pests of Ornamental Plants Fifth Edition 1978 John Wiley & Sons, New York 528