Veronica cymbalaria Pale Speedwell

Veronica cymbalaria Pale Speedwell

Complications with the identification of a rare mediterranean alien in Britain.

Veronica cymbalaria, Crete, April 2026  

Veronica cymbalaria, Faversham, Kent, 10 Feb 2026.

Veronica cymbalaria has occurred in five sites in Britain and Ireland. First recorded in 1985 by B.M.Sturdy near Penzance where it persists, at least to 2023. Recorded near Glasgow in 1999 and also in Belfast. More recently found on a petrol forecourt by Paul Stanley in Southampton in March 2023.

It also was found in Faversham, Kent on 5th Feb 2021 by F. R. Gomes. I assume all these records conform to the standard form with hairy capsules.

Veronica cymbaleria has a Mediterranean distribution with records north to Germany and east to Iran.

The key features of cymbaleria are the pure white flowers (6-10mm Dia.) and the leaf shape with 5-9 lobes and the terminal lobe being wider, but not as pronounced as in V. hederifolia.  It is stated in nearly all the literature that another key feature is the hairy capsule, compared to the hairless capsule of V. hederifolia. 

V. cymbalaria, Faversham, 10Feb 2026. Capsule and sepals.

V. cymbalaria, Faversham, 10Feb 2026. 

Veronica hederifolia. note hairless capsule and pointed hairy sepals.

The identification features seemed straight forward until a visit to Crete in April 26 where some plants had hairless capsules. The majority of V. cymbalaria plants in Crete had the expected hairy capsules. The Crete plants did have glandular stem hairs, which was not seen on the Faversham plants.

 In two sites in Crete, some plants had completely hairless capsules and sepals combined with glandular hairs on the upper stems. They grew with the hairy capsule plants and had the same flower size and general appearance.

The question was whether these hairless capsule plants are a different species or just a variation on V. cymbalaria?.   

V. cymbalaria glabrous (hairless) sepals and capsule. 

V. cymbalaria at Late Minoan Cemetery at Armani, Crete. April 26

Research on the web indicates that V. cymbalaria is polymorphic and can have versions that have hairless capsules. A very similar species with hairless capsules is described as V. panormitana but that has smaller flowers.

From Web search...

The term "polymorphic" in relation to Veronica cymbalaria (Pale Speedwell) refers to its complex genetic and evolutionary history, characterized by multiple chromosome counts (polyploidy) and varied physical forms. 

Polyploidy and Genetic Diversity

• Multiple Origins: Research shows that tetraploid (2n=4x) and hexaploid (2n=6x) versions of this species evolved independently several times in the Mediterranean.
• Complex Evolution: It is part of a "polyploid complex," meaning it has several sets of chromosomes from different parent lineages, leading to high genetic variation.
• Genetic Markers: Scientists use polymorphic SSR markers (microsatellites) to study gene flow and how these different genetic versions are related.

Morphological Characteristics

• Variable Appearance: While generally a sprawling annual with white flowers (6–12 mm), it can range from being almost hairless to very hairy (glandular hairs).
• Leaf Shape: Its leaves are round or "cymbal-like," typically having 5 to 9 lobes, which distinguishes it from similar species like Veronica hederifolia.

Two papers on the subject are :-

1) From 2022. An overview of Veronica in general but based on work by Manfred A Fisher who was the expert on this family.  Includes a photo comparison of V. cymbalaria and V. panormitana showing the smaller flowers of the latter. Early genetic work was indicating that V. cymbalaria in its polyploid forms are derived from V. panormitana and V. trichadena.  

What is a species in Veronica? Reflections ...Zobodathttps://www.zobodat.at › NEIL_13-14_0305-0323 

2) From 2007. A very complex paper:-  Amplified fragment polymorphisms and sequence data in the phylogenetic analysis of polypoids, Multiple origins of Veronica Cymbalaria. 

 Not much help except to confirm that the V. cymbalaria complex is variable in features and has a very complex history involving V. panormitana and V. trichadena with diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid forms.

For the practical botanist one feature of interest was that the stomata size from lower bracts was measured and found to be:-

Diploid   25.8 +/- 2.4 micrometers

tetraploid  35.5+/- 2.7 micrometers

Hexaploid. 40.7 +/- 3.5 micrometers.

"In a conservative approach plants with stomata 32.5-37 micrometer were designated as tetraploid.

Those with stomata between 42 and 46 micrometers long were designated as hexaploid. Environmental factors could cause quite a large variation in stomata size." I assume a resonably large sampler size would need to be taken for this to be useful.

)https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02172.xopen_in_new

Conclusion.

Most of the literature describing Veronica cymbalaria does not cover the variation that this species can show. It is so rare in the British Isles that most British floras do not cover the species at all. How plants of this species occurred here, in such a random widespread distribution is unknown but they have and will no doubt, occur in the future.   It is possible that future examples may conform to the glabrous version that I saw in Crete. 

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