Jeremy Bartlett's LET IT GROW blog

I’ve written about a number of rare plants on this blog.

I’ve seen some while on holiday by train (Pasque Flower in Hertfordshire, Dark-red Helleborine in Lancashire) and sometimes ferry (Field Cow-wheat on the Isle of Wight, Oysterplant on Orkney). Others have been much closer to home (Lizard Orchid,  Sulphur Clover, Small-flowered Catchfly and Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem).

But I mustn’t neglect more common plants, as they are worth a closer look too. Few are more abundant than Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys and, in spring and early summer, few are lovelier.

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys, in our back garden (29th May 2022).

Veronica chamaedrys is a low growing, spreading perennial plant with hairy, heart-shaped leaves. Its stems can reach to 50 cm (20 inches) tall. The main stem has a double line of hairs along the edge, which is a useful identification feature. (Flowering stems have hairs all around the stem.) As the stems creep along the ground they produce roots at the nodes to form new plants. The plant also spreads by seed.

Peak flowering (here in Norfolk) is in mid May but flowers are produced from April to July. They are 8 – 12 mm across and a deep sky-blue with white centres, giving the plant its alternative name of Bird’s-eye Speedwell. There is usually a white halo around the edge of the flower (note 1).

Detail of Germander Speedwell flowers (18th June 2022).

The map on the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora website shows Veronica chamaedrys distributed throughout most of the British Isles, with a few gaps in parts of Ireland and the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland. It grows in woods, hedge banks, grassland, rock outcrops, upland screes, road verges, railway banks and waste ground and on anthills on chalk downland. The plant isn’t particularly fussy about the type of soil it grows in and is thriving in semi-shade in our garden and on our allotment, on sandy loam.

As well as beauty, Germander Speedwell provides food for insects.

The distinctive Red-girdled Mining Bee, Andrena labiata, is found in the southern half of England but is quite scarce. It visits our garden and also our local cemetery. It is particularly partial to Veronica chamaedrys flowers, though it will collect pollen elsewhere.

Andrena labiata (female) in our back garden, May 2022. Photo credit: Vanna Bartlett.

Andrena labiata (male)

Germander Speedwell is the foodplant of the Little Long-horn Moth, Cauchas fibulella. Its larve initially feed on the seeds, then form a portable case from fragments of the plant and feed on the leaves close to the ground. The moth flies on sunny days in May and June and can be often be seen near or on the flowers.

Cauchas fibulella in our back garden, May 2022. Photo credit: Vanna Bartlett.

Germander Speedwell is also an alternative foodplant for the rare Heath Fritillary butterfly. (its main foodplants are Common Cow-wheat and Ribwort Plantain.)

Heath Fritillaries, West Blean & Thornden Woods, Kent. June 2021.

Even if the sun isn’t shining, it’s worth checking Germander Speedwell for galls, caused by the tiny Gall Midge, Jaapiella veronicae. (I’ve never seen the insect but it has a tiny orange body and long legs.) They’re fairly common in the British Isles. The Plant Parasites of Europe website has some great pictures of the galls.

Jaapiella veronicae galls on Germander Speedwell in our back garden.

I have known and loved Germander Speedwell for many years. When I first learnt about wild flowers,the plant was part of the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort family) but is nowadays it is considered to be in the Plantaginaceae (Plantain family) or Veronicaceae (Speedwell family) (note 2).

The Plants For A Future website says that Germander Speedwell leaves can be used to make a tea substitute and that “an infusion of the leaves once had a good reputation in the treatment of coughs, asthma, catarrh etc.” In the 18th Century the plant gained an reputation for curing gout. Flora Britannica quotes “Sir” John Hill (1716 – 1775): “the dried leaves picked from the stalks, were sold in our markets, and people made tea of them”. So many leaves were picked that “the plant was in a manner destroyed for many miles around London”. The craze soon passed – apparently it didn’t work – and Germander Speedwell returned, thankfully.

The plant has also been used as “a vulnerary, a purifier of the blood, and a remedy in various skin diseases, its outward application being considered efficacious for the itch“. I haven’t experimented, but the plant’s juice is apparently rather astringent and honey was sometimes used to make it more palatable.

The name “Speedwell” may relate to the plant’s medicinal qualities, if it was thought to cause a “speedy” recovery. Another possibility is that the plant was considered a good luck charm, sending travellers “speeding on their way.”

The genus name, Veronica, probably comes from the Latin: vera– means true and –nica means image. While Jesus Christ was carrying his cross to Calvary St. Veronica is said to have leant him her veil to wipe his forehead, leaving behind an image of his face on the garment.

The species name, chamaedrys means “charisma” or “gift”. “Germander” may be a corruption of chamaedrys or from the Greek chamai, which means “on the ground”.

Outside the British Isles, Veronica chamaedrys is also a native throughout most of Europe, as well as Armenia, Azerbijan and Turkey in Asia. It has been introduced to the United States and arrived in Canada in 1820, Iceland in 1922 and Chile in 1929.

There is another American connection: the sailing ship “Speedwell”, a 60-ton pinnace, was built in 1577 and under her original name of “Swiftsure” was involved in the fight against the Spanish Armada. She was renamed in 1605 and set sail with the “Mayflower” in 1620. She leaked and had to be refitted but did eventually reach Virginia in 1635 (note 3).

Notes

Note 1 –  As usual, the Wildflower Finder website has excellent photographs.

When picked, Germander Speedwell wilts very quickly, giving the plant the ironic German name “Männertreu” (“men’s faithfulness”).

As well as ‘Bird’s-eye Speedwell’, Richard Mabey’s “Flora Britannica” (page 333; Sinclair-Stevenson, 1996) lists ‘Cat’s Eye’, ‘Eye of the Child Jesus’, ‘Farewell’ and ‘Goodbye’ as alternative English names.

Note 2 – Clive Stace includes Veronica, Digitalis, Misopates and several other genera in the family Veronicaceae. (Clive Stace, “New Flora of the British Isles“, Fourth Edition, 2019.)

Around 35 species of Veronica grow in the wild in the British Isles.There are also several garden varieties.

Note 3 – It appears that the “Speedwell” was sabotaged by its captain, Mr. Reynolds.

You can read the whole story on the World History Encyclopedia website but according to Nathaniel Philbrick: “It was later learned that the Speedwell‘s master, Mr. Reynolds, had been secretly working against them. In Holland, the vessel had been fitted with new and larger masts – a fatal mistake that was probably done with Reynold’s approval, if not at his suggestion. As any mariner knew, a mast crowded with sail not only moved a ship through the water, it acted as a lever that applied torque to the hull. When a ship’s masts were too tall, the excess strain opened up the seams between the planks, causing the hull to leak. By overmasting the Speedwell, Reynolds had provided himself with an easy way to deceive this fanatical group of landlubbers. He might shrug his shoulders and scratch his head when the vessel began to take on water, but all he had to do was reduce sail and the Speedwell would cease to leak.“