Annual 0.5-3 dm, simple or branched especially below; main lvs oblong or linear-oblong to oblanceolate, 0.5-3 cm נ1-8 mm, irregularly toothed or entire; infl terminal, elongate, lax; bracts alternate, gradually reduced upwards, often not much different from the lvs, each subtending a single subsessile fl; cor white or whitish, only 2 mm wide; mature pedicels 1-2 mm; fr 3-4 mm, ±obcordate, the notch varying in depth; style very short, 0.1-0.3 mm; seeds numerous, 0.4-0.8 mm; 2n=52. Moist places; temperate N. and S. Amer., and intr. in Europe. Apr.-Sept. Our common form, the var. peregrina, is glabrous. The chiefly western var. xalapensis (Kunth) H. St. John, has the stem and commonly also the sep and frs ±pubescent with short, gland-tipped hairs; it reaches the w. edge of our range, and extends e. to the Atlantic along our n. border.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
Duration: Annual Nativity: Native Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Annual native herb; stems simple or branched, erect, ascending, 15-30 cm tall; herbage glandular and pubescent, leaves and bracts often glabrous or the plant wholly glabrous; short taproot. Leaves: Pessile or the lowermost leaves narrowed to a petiolar base, blades 0.5-2.2 mm long, 0.5-5 mm wide, narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, entire or irregular, crenate-serrate. Flowers: Raceme terminal, elongate, glandular-puberulent, bracts foliaceous at the base, gradually reduced upwards, corolla inconspicuous, whitish. Fruits: Capsules 3-4 mm long and slightly wider, obcordate with a broad notch at the top; numerous seeds. Ecology: Usually along streams and washes to 10,000 ft (3050 m); flowers March-September. Distribution: Introduced to N. Amer., in every state in the U.S.; south to S. Amer.; also in Asia, Europe and Australia. Notes: Differs from other species by the terminal raceme, annual habit, fibrous roots or taproot, short pedicels, and whitish corolla. Ethnobotany: Navajo use plant as ceremonial emetic. Chewed plant is blown toward deer for good luck while hunting. Etymology: Veronica is named for Saint Veronica, while peregrina is foreign or exotic, wandering or straggling in growth. Synonyms: None Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015