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Veronica longifolia

Common name:	Garden Speedwell	Family:	Scrophulariaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Pseudolysimachion longifolium ((L.)Opiz.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. E. and C. Europe to S.W. Asia, Mongolia, Korea and N. China.
Habitat:	Steppes, grassy mountain slopes, meadows at forest edges and birch forests below 1500 metres in northwest China[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	V. maritima[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Garden Speedwell [H], Lange Ereprijs [D], Long-leaf Speedwell [B], Long-leaved Speedwell [H,L], Longleaf Speedwell [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	longifolia = long leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. A famine food, they are only used when all else fails[179].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a moderately fertile moisture retentive well drained soil[200]. Prefers cool summers[200].
A number of cultivars have been selected for their ornamental value[200].

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.
Division in autumn or spring[200]. 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.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

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
[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 Pseudolysimachion longifolium (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for veronica longifolia (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

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

[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.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[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.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Veronica+longifolia
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Veronica+longifolia

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