Practical
Plants

Veronica spuria

a perennial member of the Veronica genus in the family Scrophulariaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Height
0.5 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Insects
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. A famine food, they are only used when all else fails[2].

Plant part
Leaves

Environment

Range
S.E. Europe to central Asia. A rare garden escape in Britain[1].
Habitat
Mountain slopes and steppes around. 1100 metres in NW Xinjiang province, China[4].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 3+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow autumn in a cold frame[3]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If you have sufficient quantity the seed can be sown outdoors in situ in the autumn or the spring. Division in autumn or spring[3]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Easily grown in a moderately fertile moisture retentive well drained soil[3]. Prefers cool summers[3].

References

  1. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩

  2. Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00

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  3. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  4. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

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