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Veronica anagallis-aquatica

Common name:	Water Speedwell	Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, temperate Asia to Japan.
Habitat:	Marshes, ditches, wet meadows, ponds and streams, avoiding acid conditions[1, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	V. anagallis[B,P] V. catenata[B,P] V. catenata var. glandulosa[B,P] V. comosa[B] V. comosa auct. non[P] V. comosa var. glaberrima[B,P] V. comosa var. glandulosa[B,P] V. connata[B] V. connata auct. non[P] V. connata ssp. glaberrima[B,P] V. connata var. glaberrima[B,P] V. connata var. typica[B,P] V. glandifera[B,P] V. micromeria[B,P] V. salina[B] V. salina auct. non[P] V. x lackschewitzii[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Blauwe Waterereprijs [D], Blue Water Speedwell [B], Blue Water-speedwell [L], Pimpernel,Water [E], Water Speedwell [L,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	aquatica = in water;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain(Wales); Europe; Indochina

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires wet soil and can grow in water.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[46, 61]. Rich in vitamin C[2]. A subtle flavour[132], the leaves can be added to salads or used as a potherb[183]. When used in salads they go better with a lemon dressing than vinegar[183]. The leaves are often available in winter.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative; Antiscorbutic; Appetizer; Diuretic; Poultice.

The root and the leaves are alterative, appetizer and diuretic[218, 240]. The leaves are used in the treatment of scurvy, impurity of the blood etc[240]. The plant is bruised and applied externally as a poultice on burns, ulcers, whitlows, etc[240].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a moderately fertile wet soil or in shallow water[1, 200]. Prefers cool summers[200].
Plants are occasionally cultivated for their edible leaves in Japan[61].

Propagation

Seed - sow autumn in a cold frame[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed it can be grown in situ in the autumn or spring.
Division in autumn or spring[200]. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.
Cuttings of young shoots root easily in the growing season, merely put them in water.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Scrophulariaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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