Veronica persica Poir., Plantaginaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Veronica agrestis var. byzantina Sm.; Veronica byzantina (Sibth. & Sm.) Britton et al.; Veronica tournefortii C. C. Gmel.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: a la bo po po na

English: bird-eye, bird-eye speedwell, common field-speedwell, creeping speedwell, Persian speedwell, scrambling speedwell, winter speedwell

French: véronique de Perse

Japanese: o-inunofuguri

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annuals, sometimes biennials. Stems diffuse, ca. 10-20 cm tall, 20-50 cm, densely pubescent with multicellular hairs often more densely so along 2 lines. Opposite leaves in (2 or) 3 or 4 (or 5) pairs; petiole 1-8 mm; leaf blade ovate-lanceolate to suborbicular, (6-) 10-20 (-25) x (5-) 8-15 (-20) mm, evenly sparsely pubescent on both surfaces, margin flat, obtusely crenate-serrate, 3-6 (-10)-toothed per side. Racemes terminal, lax, very long; bracts alternate, leaflike, petiolate, uppermost ones smaller than others. Fruiting pedicel (1.2-) 1.5-3 (-4) cm, usually longer than bract. Calyx 4-lobed; lobes ovate-lanceolate, 5-8 (-10) x 2.5-3.5 (-4) mm in fruit, sparsely pubescent, veins 3. Corolla usually blue, rotate, 0.8-1.4 cm in diameter, throat sparsely hairy; lobes ovate to orbicular. Stamens slightly shorter than corolla. Capsule obcordate, strongly compressed, 4-6 x 6-9 mm, apically notched at right to obtuse angle; lobes obtuse, glandular hairy, venation conspicuously reticulate. Style 2-3 mm, exserted. Seeds slightly navicular, usually 1.4-2.3 x 0.9-1.6 mm; seed coat deeply rugose dorsally"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China, "naturalized in waste fields and roadsides; below 1700 m"  (Flora of China online).  In New Zealand, "Very common or abundant in arable land, waste open ground, roadsides, dry river beds, rough pastures and other open modified habitats"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 1211).  In New South Wales, Australia, "Grows in pasture, disturbed sites, stockyards and as a weed of gardens; chiefly in coastal districts"  (NSW PlantNET).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Probable origin s.w. Asia; widespread weed, especially in temperate regions (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) "A fairly common introduced weed".
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) "A fairly common introduced weed".
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 462, 466, 558)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 462, 466, 558) Voucher cited: Danton A(234)258
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Kermadec Islands	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1211)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced invasive	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 249) On grassland.
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 189)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1211)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Weed identification guide from Virginia Tech.
Fact sheet from University of California IPM online.
Information from the Bayer Cropscience Crop Compendium.

Additional online information about Veronica persica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Veronica persica as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Veronica persica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).