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1 Flowers in axillary racemes; upper bracteal leaves opposite throughout. |
2 Leaves and stems pubescent; [plants of mesic to dry habitats]. |
3 Leaves cuneate at the base; leaves widest at the middle or beyond; pedicels shorter than the subtending bracts; [subgenus Veronica] |
3 Leaves cordate, truncate or rounded at the base; leaves widest toward the base; pedicels equaling or longer than the subtending bracts. |
4 Stem pubescence generally distributed; calyx shorter than the capsule; style 6-8 mm long; stems erect; [subgenus Pentasepalae] |
4 Stem pubescence restricted to 2 lines; calyx longer than the capsule; style 3-5 mm long; stems creeping or ascending; [subgenus Chamaedrys] |
2 Leaves and stems glabrous, or with fine glandular hairs in the inflorescence only; [plants of wetlands]. |
5 Leaves (even the upper) short- petiolate; [subgenus Beccabunga]. |
6 Leaves broadest toward the base, acute at the tip; style 2.5-3.5 mm long |
6 Leaves broadest near or above the middle, rounded at the tip; style 1.8-2.2 mm long |
5 Leaves (at least the middle and upper) sessile. |
7 Capsule flattened, conspicuously notched at the style and therefore appearing 2- lobed, wider than long; seeds 1.2-1.8 mm long; leaves (3-) 4-20× as long as wide; < 1 cm wide, tapering to the base and not clasping; [subgenus Veronica] |
7 Capsule turgid, slightly or not notched at the style, about as long as wide; seeds < 0.5 mm long; leaves 1.5-5 (-8)× as long as wide, mostly > 1 cm wide, clasping at the base; [subgenus Beccabunga]. |
8 Racemes 20-65-flowered; pedicels 4-8 mm long; capsule ovoid to globose, not notched or barely so |
8 Racemes 5-25 (-35)-flowered; pedicels 3-6 mm long; capsule broadly obcordate, distinctly though slightly notched at the style |
1 Flowers in terminal racemes or solitary and axillary, subtended by normally-sized leaves; upper bracteal leaves often alternate. |
9 Bracts abruptly smaller than the foliage leaves, the flowers thus in well-developed terminal racemes or spikes; perennials from rhizomes. |
10 Stems 3-10 dm tall; flowers in a crowded terminal spike; larger leaves > 4 cm long, sharply serrate; [subgenus Pseudolysimachium] |
10 Stems 1-3 dm tall; flowers in loose racemes; larger leaves < 2.5 cm long, entire to weakly toothed; [subgenus Beccabunga]. |
11 Flowers bright blue; pedicels with some longer gland-tipped hairs; flowers usually < 12 per raceme |
11 Flowers pale blue with darker blue lines; pedicels puberulent; flowers usually > 12 per raceme |
9 Bracts gradually reduced in size upward, all of the flowers or at least those lower on the stem axillary in the axils of well-developed foliage leaves; annuals (except V. filiformis). |
12 Pedicels 0-2 mm long; flowers in the axils of bracts, all or at least the upper of which are very different than foliage leaves. |
13 Larger leaves 3-10× as long as wide, entire or dentate towards the apex; flowers white or very pale, ca. 2 mm across; stems usually glabrous (except V. peregrina var. xalapensis); [subgenus Beccabunga]. |
14 Stem glabrous; sepals and fruit glabrous |
14 Stem pubescent with short, gland-tipped hairs; sepals and fruit glabrous or pubescent with short, gland-tipped hairs |
13 Larger leaves 1-2.5× as long as wide, palmately lobed or toothed; flowers blue, 2-6 mm across; stems pubescent. |
15 Leaves and lower bracts deeply 3-7- palmately lobed, the lobes cut > 2/3 of the way to the leaf base; [subgenus Pellidosperma] |
15 Leaves and lower bracts crenate- serrate to 3-5- pinnately or subpalmately lobed (the lobes cut < ½ of the way to the leaf base); [subgenus Chamaedrys]. |
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16 Leaves 3-5 pinnately to subpalmately lobed. |
17 Corolla 4-6 mm in diameter; style 0.8-1.5 mm long; stigma violet |
17 Corolla 1.5-3 mm in diameter; style 0.2-0.6 mm long; stigma white |
12 Pedicels 5-40 mm long; flowers in the axils of leaves similar in shape and size to foliage leaves (though the upper are sometimes somewhat smaller). |
18 Perennial, the stems rooting at the nodes the length of the stem; pedicels > 2× as long as the leaves; [subgenus Pocilla] |
18 Annual, the stems not rooting at the nodes (or at most only at the base of the plant); pedicels < 2× as long as the leaves. |
19 Leaves with usually > 7 small teeth or crenations; capsules either obviously compressed in ×-section, or nearly round ( V. polita); [subgenus Pocilla]. |
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20 Lobes of the capsule with apices parallel or diverging at an acute angle, the apical notch of the capsule < 90°; corolla < 8 mm wide. |
21 Capsule with all hairs straight and gland-tipped; corolla white to pale blue or violet |
21 Capsule with a mixture of short, arching, non- glandular hairs and longer, straight, gland-tipped hairs; corolla bright blue |
19 Leaves with 3-7 shallow lobes or large teeth; capsules nearly round in ×-section; [subgenus Cochlidiosperma]. |
22 Calyx lobes not ciliate; corollas white |
22 Calyx lobes ciliate-margined; corollas blue, violet, pink, or very pale pink (whitish). |
23 Pedicels 1-2× as long as the calyx; corollas dark blue with white center; outer surfaces of calyx lobes puberulent (rarely glabrous) |
23 Pedicels 2-4 (-6)× as long as the calyx; corollas medium to lighter blue (and with white center) or violet, pink, or very pale pink (whitish); outer surfaces calyx lobes glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
24 Corollas bright blue with bright white center, (4-) 5-7 (-9) mm in diameter; styles (0.6-) 0.7-0.9 (-1.1) mm long; pedicels 2-3× as long as the calyx; pedicels eglandular-hairy in a single line |
24 Corollas pale violet or pink to whitish, 4-5 (-6) mm in diameter; styles 0.2-0.7 mm long; pedicels 3-4 (-6)× as long as the calyx; pedicels densely eglandular-hairy around their circumference |