Veronica americana

Veronica americana
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Plantaginaceae
Genus:	Veronica
Species:	V. americana
Binomial name
Veronica americana (Raf.) Schwein. ex Benth.
Synonyms
Veronica anagallis Veronica crenatifolia Veronica intermedia

Veronica americana, variously called American brooklime or American speedwell, is a flowering plant native to temperate and arctic Asia and North America where it grows in streams and bottomlands.

It is a herbaceous perennial with glabrous stems 10–100 cm (4–40 in) long that bear terminal or axillary racemes or spikes of soft violet flowers. The leaves are 1.5–8 cm (0.6–3.1 in) long and 3 to 20 times as long as wide, short-petiolate, glabrous, serrate to almost entire.

The plant can be confused with Scutellaria (skullcap) and other members of the mint family. Members of the mint family have square sided stems, and Veronica species have rounded stems.

Taxonomy

In 1830 Constantine Samuel Rafinesque described a variety of Veronica beccabunga he named americana. The botanist George Bentham raised to species status in a publication published in 1846 where he credited Lewis David de Schweinitz, giving the taxa its accepted name. It is classified in the genus Veronica which is part of the Plantaginaceae family. It does not have any accepted varieties or forms, but there are three among its eight synonyms.

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Veronica americana f. albiflora Tatew. ex H.Hara	1948	form	= het.
Veronica americana var. crassula Rydb.	1900	variety	= het.
Veronica americana f. rosea J.K.Henry	1917	form	= het.
Veronica anagallis Bong.	1832	species	= het.
Veronica beccabunga var. americana Torr.	1843	variety	= het., nom. illeg.
Veronica beccabunga var. americana Raf.	1830	variety	≡ hom.
Veronica crenatifolia Greene	1903	species	= het.
Veronica intermedia Schwein.	1824	species	= het., nom. illeg.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

Uses

American speedwell is used both as food and as a medicinal plant. It is rich in nutrients and is reported to have a flavor similar to that of watercress. As long as the water source is not contaminated, the entire plant (sans roots) can be eaten raw.

Further reading

• Moreno-Escobar, Jorge; Alvarez, Laura; Rodriguez-Lopez, Veronica; Marquina Bahena, Silvia (2013). "Cytotoxic glucosydic iridoids from Veronica americana". Phytochemistry Letters. 6 (4): 610–613. Bibcode:2013PChL....6..610M. doi:10.1016/j.phytol.2013.07.017.