Large speedwell

Synonyms: Veronica austriaca subsp. teucrium (L.) D.A.Webb, Krylov's veronica (Veronica krylovii Schischk.), broad-leaved veronica, Veronica dubrovnik, Cardia plana Dulac, Uranostachys teucrium (L.) Fourr., Veronica florida Salisb., Veronica teucriphylla St.-Lag., Veronica bastardii Boreau, Veronica brachysepala Sch.Bip., Veronica canescens Bastard, Veronica crinita Kit., Veronica pseudochamaedrys Jacq., Veronica teucrium proles brachysepala (Sch.Bip.) Rouy, Veronica teucrium proles pseudochamaedrys (Jacq.) Rouy, Veronica teucrium subsp. crinita (Kit.) Velen., Veronica teucrium subsp. pseudochamaedrys (Jacq.) Nyman, Veronica teucrium var. bastardii Franch.

Large speedwell (Veronica teucrium L.) – a species of plants of the genus Veronica in the plantain family (Plantaginaceae). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1762 in his "Sp. Pl. (ed. 2) 1: 16–17 16".

Occurs in Western Europe: Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the former Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, eastern Spain, Ukraine (Crimea); in Asia – China (Northern Jungaria), Mongolia (Selenga River), Russia. Found on meadows, meadow steppes, forest edges, in shrubs and light forests, in river valleys, on rocks, and in pine forests.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a creeping cord-like rhizome. Stems solitary, less often 2-3, ascending or erect, 15-70 (100) cm long, thick.

Leaves entire, ovate or oblong-ovate, 3-5.5 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide, cordate-triangular, almost stem-clasping, on short petioles or sessile, margins toothed-serrated to coarsely incised, less often nearly entire, glabrous above, covered with hairs beneath.

Flowers are gathered in opposite, dense racemes, 6-15 cm long and numbering 2-4 in the axils of the upper leaves. Pedicels thin, directed upwards, curly-hairy, equal to or slightly longer than the bracts and the calyx. Bracts linear or linear-lanceolate. Calyx unequally 5-parted, rarely 4-parted, the fifth tooth reaching 1.5 mm in length. Calyx lobes linear-lanceolate to subulate, 3-4 mm long, glabrous or slightly hairy. Corolla 9-17 mm in diameter, bright blue, pinkish or white, with darker veins. Throat white and hairy. Corolla lobes unequal, three ovate to broadly ovate and one ovate, shortly acute. Stamens almost the same length as the corolla. Anthers ovate, blue, as are the filaments. Flowering from late May, for 40-45 days.

Fruits – capsules broadly obovate or obcordate to nearly round, 3-3.5 (5.5) mm long, glabrous or with sparse hairs, rounded at the base, with a shallow and narrow notch at the apex. Seeds flat, peltate, up to 1.5 mm wide.

Cultivars: 'True Blue' ('True Blue'), 'Schirly Blue' ('Schirly Blue'), 'Miffy Blue'.

Hardiness zone: 3a (-29C).

Position: light-loving, moisture-loving, but drought-tolerant and undemanding.

Soil: alkaline substrate, stony, with a small amount of clay or river silt.

Care: practically requires no maintenance. Cut back shoots after flowering. Does not require winter shelter.

Pests: butterfly caterpillars, galls, mites, weevils.

Diseases: raspberry ring spot, mycorrhiza.

Propagation: by seed and vegetatively. Seeds are sown in the ground in autumn. Seedlings appear in the 2nd year. For cuttings use the tips of growing shoots. Easily propagated by dividing the clump in early spring or in August. When transplanting, cut back the aboveground part.

Companions: primulas, geums, bellflowers, saxifrages, sedums, carnations, Dalmatian geranium.

Uses: used in rock gardens for planting large areas, in stone flower walls, on terraces or dry sites, mixed borders and for cutting. Decorative near wildlife corners or natural landscapes.