Veronica persica
Ecology
An annual of arable fields, other cultivated areas and waste ground, found on a wide range of fertile soils. It is self-fertile and seeds prolifically, the seeds forming a persistent seed bank and germinating throughout the year. It also spreads vegetatively from stem fragments. 0-350 m (Alston, Cumberland).
Status
Trends
This species was first recorded in the wild in 1826 and rapidly extended its range during the 19th century. It remains frequent even in arable fields.
World Distribution
Probably native to mountains of the Caucasus & N. Iran, where it may have originated by the hybridisation of V. ceratocarpa and V. polita. Widespread as a weed in Europe, N. Africa, N. America, Japan and New Zealand.
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 6
Moisture (Ellenberg): 5
Reaction (Ellenberg): 7
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 7
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.7
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 14.9
Annual Precipitation (mm): 993
Height (cm): 30
Perennation - primary
Life Form - primary
Woodiness
Clonality - primary
Clonality - secondary
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 2232
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 722
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 13
Atlas Change Index: -0.37
Weighted Changed Factor: 15
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
JNCC Designations
PLANTATT - Attributes of British and Irish plants. (.zip 1455KB) This dataset was compiled and published in 2004, and last updated in November 2008. Download includes an Excel spreadsheet of the attributes, and a PDF explaining the background and nomenclature. Note that the PDF version is the booklet as published, whereas the Excel spreadsheet incorporates subsequent corrections. A hardcopy can be purchased from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
Atlas text references
Atlas (232a)
.
1988. Comparative Plant Ecology.
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1987. On the origin of Veronica persica (Scrophulariaceae) - a contribution to the history of a neophytic weed. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 155:105-132.
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1986. Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of Cancer. 3 vols.
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1978. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora. Volume 2. 2 vols.