Veronica officinalis, SE: Ärenpris, DE: Echte Ehrenpreis, Wald-Ehrenpreis,
NL: Mannetjesereprijs, UK: Heath speedwell, Common speedwell,
Common gypsyweed, Paul's betony

Scientific name:		Veronica officinalis L.
Swedish name:		Ärenpris
German name:		Echte Ehrenpreis, Wald-Ehrenpreis
Nederlandse naam:		Mannetjesereprijs
English name:		Heath speedwell, Common speedwell, Common gypsyweed, Paul's betony
Family:		Plantaginaceae, Plantain Family (formerly Scrophulariaceae - Figwort Family), Lejongapsväxter

Life form:		Perennial
Stems:		Height 10-30cm, limp–ascending, branching, rooting, soft-haired
Leaves:		Opposite, short-stalked. Blade elliptic–ovate, with tapered base, hairy, finely toothed.
Flowers:		Inflorescence a dense axillary raceme; corolla pale blue–purple, almost regular (actinomorphic)
Flowering Period:		June-August
Fruits:		Capsule
Habitat:		Dry slopes, hillocks, clearings and in wooded areas
Distribution:		Throughout the country

Derivation of the botanical name: Veronica, named for the woman who took her veil, or a linen cloth, and wiped the sweat from the face of Jesus as he was bearing his cross to Calvary, and so named because the markings on some species supposedly resemble those on her sacred handkerchief. officinalis, derived from opificina, shortened to officina, originally a workshop, later a monastic storeroom, then a herb-store, pharmacy or drug-shop. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.