Veronica chamaedrys

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Veronica chamaedrys
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Species: V. chamaedrys
Binomial name
Veronica chamaedrys
L.

Veronica chamaedrys (germander speedwell, bird's-eye speedwell[1]) is a species of Veronica, native to Europe and northern Asia. It is found on other continents as an introduced species. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with hairy stems and leaves. It can grow to 25 cm tall, but is normally about 12 cm tall. The flowers are blue, with a four-lobed corolla. The form of the leaves are similar to white deadnettle.

The 2 to 4 mm wide blossoms of this plant wilt very quickly upon picking, which has given it the ironic name "Männertreu", or "men's faithfulness" in German.[2]

Germander Speedwell is also a common, hardy turf weed when it invades turf and lawns. It creeps along the ground, spreading by sending down roots at the stem nodes. It is propagated both by seed and stem fragments. Leaves may defoliate in the summer and winter but the stems will grow again next season. Unlike at least five other common speedwell turf weeds such as corn speedwell[3] (Veronica arvensis), the leaves are opposite both on the upper and lower parts of the plant.[4][5] See the Veronica for special weed control considerations.

Veronica chamaedrys herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea) for treatment of disorders of the nervous system, respiratory tract, cardiovascular system, and metabolism.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Bird's-eye Speedwell (Germander Speedwell)
  2. ↑ Friedhelm Sauerhoff, Pflanzennamen im Vergleich: Benennungstheorie und Etymologie [Plant names compared: theory of naming and etymology] (Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 2001), page 206: Das bestätigt auch E. Mießner, wenn er zum Gamander-Ehrenpreis feststellt: "Da die Blüten leicht abfallen, auch deutscher Spottname 'Männertreu'..." (E. Mießner also confirms that, when he observes about Veronica chamaedrys: "Since the blossoms easily fall off, [it is] also [known by] the derisive German nickname, 'men's faithfulness'...")
  3. ↑ other Turf Weeds at Virginia Tech: corn speedwell, Veronica arvensis http://turfweeds.contentsrvr.net/category_detail.pg_24.vesh
  4. ↑ Turf Weeds at Virginia Tech; germander speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys: http://turfweeds.contentsrvr.net/category_detail.pg_17.vesh
  5. ↑ Weed ID & info; Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State University and Ronald Calhoun: http://www.msuturfweeds.net/details/_/germander_speedwell_13/
  6. ↑ Vogl S, Picker P, Mihaly-Bison J, Fakhrudin N, Atanasov AG, Heiss EH, Wawrosch C, Reznicek G, Dirsch VM, Saukel J, Kopp B. Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine - An unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs. J Ethnopharmacol.2013 Jun13. doi:pii: S0378-8741(13)00410-8. 10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID 23770053. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23770053
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