20,00 zł – 86,00 zł
A perennial plant with turfing attributes. The broadleaf speedwell is a universal species that will grow well in most locations. As it grows, it creates clumps with blue inflorescences that are eagerly visited by pollinators. It is the host of the rare Assmann’s fritillary butterfly.
Wild, non-cultivar seeds.
SKU: N076
Polish name: hill speedwell
Latin Name: Veronica teucrium L.
Family: previously the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, today usually the plantain family Plantaginaceae
Status in Poland: native, frequent, a bit rarer at the seaside, in the central and in the eastern Poland, and more common in the highlands region, locally also in the valleys of great rivers
The broadleaf speedwell is tuft durable plant, belonging to the speedwells with lateral inflorescences and the obconical shape. It develops at least three types of shoots, the first of them are short, underground rhizomes, the second are underground stolons, and the third of them are shaggy, opposite-foliaged erect flower stems.
The lower leaves of this species are characterized by short stalks, while the middle and upper leaves are sessile. In addition, all leaves have obtusely crenate margins, most hairy on the veins, and lanceolate or oblong-elliptical shape. It blooms all summer, developing bisexual, sapphire or navy blue flowers with dark veins and a white center, usually measuring 10-15 mm in diameter. Single flowers are gathered in long, straight (not branched) inflorescences, defined in various plant keys and atlases either as racemes or as spikes. They form in pairs in the angles of the upper leaves.
The fruit is a tomentosed, flat capsule with a cuneate base, obcordate, dividing along the top edge into the 2 receptacles full of inconspicuous seeds. It ripens in July.
The broadleaf speedwell likes sunny places, although it can withstand partial shade. It grows well in a very warm microclimate, but it can withstand even severe frosts in winter. It grows best in soils rich in calcium and humus simultaneously. It does not have any special requirements regarding soil compaction, growing equally well in rocky, sandy and very heavy, clay and compact soils. It reproduces by sowing seeds in the fall or spring, by cuttings or by dividing expanded clumps in the fall or early spring. After shortening the shoots in early summer, it will repeat flowering by half.
For centuries, it has been perfect for rockeries, flower beds and naturalistic compositions, as a ground cover and turf species, more and more often it is sown in urban flower meadows, containers, flower margins in orchards and bee pastures.
A genus speedwell Veronica includes almost 450 species, thus the majority of the plantain family (former figwort family). The amazing variety of sizes and habit of plants, including the structure of the inflorescence, has long prompted many scientists to divide this genus into a number of smaller ones.
The broadleaf speedwell is a honey plant, although, according to some sources, it is pollinated mainly by wind, not insects. No precise figures on pollen and nectar yields are available.
It is a host of the Assmann’s fritillary butterfly. The butterfly lays its eggs on the underside of the leaves of this plant.
