- Veronica americana
Taxobox
name = "Veronica americana"
|William O. Douglas Wilderness
image_width = 250px
regnum =Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis =Magnoliopsida
ordo =Lamiales
familia =Plantaginaceae
genus = "Veronica"
species = "V. americana"
binomial = "Veronica americana"
binomial_authority = Schwein. ex Benth."Veronica americana", variously called "American brookline" or "American speedwell",cite web | title = Veronica americana Schwein. ex Benth. | work = PLANTS Profile | publisher = United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service | url = http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEAM2 | accessdate = 2008-03-30 ] is a
plant native to temperate and arcticAsia andNorth America cite web | title = Veronica americana Schwein. ex Benth. | work = GRIN Taxonomy for Plants | publisher = Germplasm Resources Information Network | url = http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?316860 | accessdate = 2008-03-30 ] where it grows in streams and bottomlands.It is a
herbaceous perennial with glabrous stems 10–100 cm long that bear terminal or axillary racemes or spikes of soft violet flowers. The leaves are 1.5-8 cm long and 3 to 20 times as long as wide, short-petiolate, glabrous, serrate to almost entire. cite web|title=Veronica americana|work=WTU Herbarium Image Collection |publisher=Burke Museum, University of Washington|url=http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Veronica&Species=americana|accessdate=2008-03-30]Uses and edibility
American speedwell is edible and nutritious and is reported to have a flavor similar to
watercress . Native Americans used "Veronica" species as an expectorant tea to alleviate bronchial congestion associated with asthma and allergies. The plant can be confused withSkullcap and other members of the mint family. Members of the mint family have square sided stems, and "Veronica" species have rounded stems, and are easily distinguished from skullcap. [Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, ISBN 0-87842-359-1]References
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