Start the Week with a Wildflower No 41. Ivy-leaved and Common Field Speedwell, Veronica hederifolia, and Veronica Persica.

       

                       

It is time to put your specs on and admire these two tiny speedwells. The different speedwells (there are quite a few) can be tricky to identify, but these links are really helpful. dinkymoira speedwell guide

Wildflower Society Speedwell guide

Photos from the Bath Rd verge by Green Lane give the scale.  So easy to miss but how pretty close up. I love the hairiness of Ivy-leaved speedwell (Photo 1). Both were common crop weeds, but less now with the use of herbicides and seed cleaning in farming.  Common field speedwell can flower all year round giving it the common name of winter speedwell. I often see it peeping out from the grass on a sunny Winter’s day when walking Col 8. 

Both species provide a mat of low ground cover, providing important habitat for the many small invertebrates that keep our nature healthy and in balance. Their early flowering is much needed for our emerging bees. 

The last photo was taken last March in a Munich urban park area.  Germany,  along with several other countries has banned the use of Glyphosate in public spaces. The patches of field speedwell and other wildflowers in the grassed areas are lovely and buzzing with pollinators. France, the Netherlands and Belgium have banned its household use as well. What are we waiting for?