Veronica beccabunga
| Veronica beccabunga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Veronica |
| Species: | V. beccabunga |
| Binomial name | |
| Veronica beccabunga L. | |
Veronica beccabunga (brooklime, European speedwell) is a succulent herb belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It grows on the margins of brooks and ditches in Europe, North Africa and north and western Asia. It can be found on other continents as an introduced species. It has smooth spreading branches, blunt oblong leaves and small bright blue or pink flowers.
The species name beccabunga is of uncertain origin, but it may come from the German bachbunge ("brook" + "bunch"), or the Flemish bechpunge ("mouth smart") for the tartness of the leaves.[1]
Medicinal usage
Brooklime was of three traditional antiscorbutic herbs, used (alongside scurvy grass and watercress) in purported remedies for scurvy. However none of these herbs are rich in Vitamin C and the usual preparation by extracting of juices would have destroyed most of their content, rendering the preparations ineffectual against true scurvy.[2]
Notes
- ↑ CalFlora Botanical Names
- ↑ Hughes, R.E. (1990). "The rise and fall of the "antiscorbutics": some notes on the traditional cures for "land scurvy"". Medical History 34: 52–64.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
External links
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