Water Speedwell
Veronica anagallis-aquatica
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Photographed in Hassayampa Box Canyon, Yavapai Co., Arizona. April 2008.
HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL: Plants usually survive several seasons so long as
intervening droughts are not too severe. Succulent above ground portions rarely
exceed 50 cm in height. Several
ascending branches.
FLOWERS: Blue-violet flowers are are nearly radially symmetrical. Spikes
branch out from leaf axils often with many flowers open at once.
RANGE: Normally grows in moist sand along intermitent streams. Blooming
from mid spring through autumn. Generally distributed and common in upper
elevations of the Sonoran Desert, but restricted to riparian and semi-riparian
habitats.
LEAVES: Leaves are elyptic and variously toothed or smooth along margins. The bases
more-or-less clasp the stem and are opposite.
FRUIT: Capsules are flattened and contain a number of seeds.
UNARMED.