Weed Information: Veronica arvensis (speedwell, corn)
Back to Plant List

Veronica arvensis (speedwell, corn)

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Description

Weeds of lawns and waste places with very small, blue flowers and heart-shaped fruits. The plant pictured on page 171 of the 1979 Nebraska Weeds is NOT Veronica arvensis but is instead Veronica peregrina (purslane speedwell). However, the descriptive text seems correct.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Blue
  • Blue-purple
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Terminal raceme
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • United at base only (<25% length)
  • United from 25% - 75% length
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers slightly irregular
  • Flowers strongly irregular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 4 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United at base < 25% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 2 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 2-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Width
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Oval
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Crenate
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Cordate
  • Rounded
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glandular
  • Hirsute
  • Pubescent
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Spreading ascending
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Newfoundland
  • Yukon
Other
  • District of Columbia
  • St. Pierre and Miquelon
  • Labrador
  • Greenland

  • Common Weeds of the United States, 1971 (ISBN 0-486-20504-5) See page: 336
  • Field Guide To The Common Weeds Of Kansas, 1983 (ISBN 0-7006-0233-X) See page: 98
  • Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 97
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 143
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 77, 83
  • Nebraska Weeds, 1979 Nebraska Dept. of Ag., Lincoln NE, See page: 171
  • Ontario Weeds, 1992 Agdex 640, Publication #505 See page: 195
  • Representative Missouri Weeds and Their Control, 1941 Univ. of Missouri Ag. Exp Station Bulletin #433, See page: 163
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains, 1993 University of Kansas# 92-125-B ISBN# 0-7006-0651-3 See index #: 180
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 399, 400
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 62
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 403
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 1486
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 187
  • Weeds of the Midwestern United States & Central Canada, University of Georgia 2010, ISBN#0-8203-3506-1 See page: 289
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 177
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1997 Cornell University ISBN# 0-8014-8334-4 See page: 188, 308
  • Weeds of the United States and Their Control, Lorenzi 1987, ISBN# 0-442-25884-4 See page: 268
  • Weeds of Utah, 1971 UAES Special Report 21, See page: 83
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
Back to Plant List