Veronica syriaca, the Syrian speedwell, is a flowering plant species in the family Plantaginaceae. The generic name of this flower is of unknown origin. Some think it is a distortion of betonica, the Latin name of a species of Labiates[1]; others consider that it refers to Saint Veronica who handed a cloth to Christ to wipe the perspiration from his face.[2]

Veronica syriaca
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Species:
V. syriaca
Binomial name
Veronica syriaca
Roem. & Schult.
Veronica syriaca

Description

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Annual. pubescent-glandular, 10–30 cm. Leaves ovate, crenulate or dentate. Flowers in loose racemes. Bracts linear, entire. Pedicels filiform, spreading-erect, sometimes recurved at apex. Calyx lobes ovate-Ianceolate, 2–3 mm. Corolla blue and white, 8–15 mm in diameter.

Flowering

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January–May.

Distribution and habitat

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Fields, gardens. Coast, lower and middle mountains, eastern slope, Beqaa of Lebanon, Hennon. Syria and Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey.

References

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  1. ^ ROJAS-ANDRÉS, BLANCA M.; MARTÍNEZ-ORTEGA, M. MONTSERRAT (2016-11-22). "Taxonomic revision of Veronica subsection Pentasepalae (Veronica, Plantaginaceae sensu APG III)". Phytotaxa. 285 (1): 1. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.285.1.1. ISSN 1179-3163.
  2. ^ Mustapha Nehmeh, Wild Flowers Of Lebanon, National Council For Scientific Research,1978,page 214.
  • Georges Tohme& Henriette Tohme, IIIustrated Flora of Lebanon, National Council For Scientific Research, Second Edition 2014.