Veronica gentianoides
Veronica gentianoides
Ssp gentianoides: Kandilçiçeği; Ssp glacialis: Yayla kandili
Shortly creeping perennial herb, sometimes forming mats. Rhizome branched, 4-7 mm diam. with leaf rosettes. Flowering stems unbranched,ascending to erect, 5-60 em, usually glabrous, sparsely pubescent towards inflorescence. Leaves broadly elliptic to lanceolate, oblanceolate or linear, 15-80 x 3-15 mm, ± thick or subcoriaceous, shining, midrib often whitish; apex acute or obtuse; margin narrowly cartilaginous, entire or remotely and irregularly denticulate to crenulate ; basal often crowded forming ± distinct rosette, ± petiolate, connate and vaginate at base , usually glabrous; cauline smaller, sessile, 1-5-paired, with short sheaths, often ± pubescent with usually very short glandular hairs. Raceme 10-50-flowered, indistinctly delimited from vegetative portion, often with sterile bracts at base, densely glandular- pubescent with short patent hairs. Pedicels 5-15 mm, 1-3 x bracts. Calyx 2-3·5 mm in flower, lobes 4. Corolla dark to pale blue, 8-16 mm diam. Style 4-8 mm. Capsule orbicular, 4-7 x 5-7 mm, usually exceeding calyx, usually glandular-pubescent, emarginate . Seeds numerous, orbicular to elliptic, 1,8-2,4 x 1,5-2 mm, flat, smooth. Fl. 5-8. Forests, damp meadows, pastures, wet places, rocky alpine slopes, 1000-3600 m.
Caucasia, N.W. Iran. Hyrcano-Euxine element.
subsp. gentianoides var. alpina
Differing from the type by its smaller height , smaller leaves ovate-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, shorter petioles, racemes with 5-18 flowers. Fl. 7-9. Serpentine slopes, earthy slopes and steep screes; 2100-3000 m.
Endemic. A dwarf high altitude variant.
subsp. glacialis
Similar to V. gentianoides subsp. gentianoides var, alpina but differs from it by oblanceolate to subspathulate leaves with obtuse-rotund apices. Fl. 6-8. Alpine steppe, sctees, earthy slopes. 2500-3800 m.
Iraq and Iran. Ir.-Tur. element.
