beautifulflowers032840mbp

82 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS OF KASHMIR [Plate 47
Veronica arvensis, Linn. Wall Speedwell, Corn Speedwell.
(Arvensis refers to a supposed preference for arable land.)
An annual herb, hairy or glandular hairy. Stems erect or
ascending, 2-10 in. high, often branching from the base.
Leaves stalkless, or the lowest short-stalked, egg-shaped,
J-J in. long, crenate ;
lower opposite, without flowers, gradually
passing into small, alternate, entire bracts, each bearing in its
axil a single ilower. Flowers very small, pale or deep blue,
almost stalkless, falling off at the least touch. Sepals narrow,
blunt, ciliate. Corolla wheel-like, with a short white tube,
segments 4. Capsule flat, inversely heart-shaped, pale brown,
up to J in. broad, glandular-hairy, shorter than the calyx.
Seeds about 6, oval, flattened at the border, with a depression
down the middle.
Flowers. May.
Locality. Srinagar, on the banks of tho Jhelum
;
Dachigam
Eakh
;
Kishtwar.
Distribution. W. Himalaya, from Kashmir to Garhwal,
7,000-9,000 ft., temperate Asia, N. Africa, Europe, introduced
into America.
Veronica biloba,
Linn.
(Biloba means 2-lobed, alluding to the deeply lobed fruit.)
An annual, pubescent herb. Stems erect or ascending,
diffusely branched from the base. Branches 4-18 in. long,
sparsely leafy, running into very loose racemes. Leaves
stalkless or very short-stalked, oblong or ogg-lance-shaped,
^-1 in. long, more or less toothed ;
the lowest opposite, without
flowers ; upper alternate, gradually passing into short, entire
bracts, each bearing in its axil a single flower. Flowers blue,
diameter, drooping, stalk longer than the leaves or bracts.
J in.
Sepals i in. long, in fruit up to \ in., spreading. Corolla shorter
than the calyx. Capsule deeply lobed, much broader than
long, flattened, cells 2-4-seeded. Seeds oblong, boat-shaped,
more or less deeply pitted.
Flowers. May, June.
Locality. Srinagar, on the banks of the Jhelum near the
Eesidency; Tangmarg, 7,100 ft., forests 7,200-8,700 ft.;
Gulmarg, 8,600-8,700 ft. Tosh
; Maidan, 11,500 ft.
Distribution. W. Himalaya, from Kashmir to Kumaon, up
to 15,000 ft., westward to Asia Minor, Soongaria.