Speedwells (Veronica) in Newcastle and North Tyneside

In keeping with similar posts in this series exploring the plants uncovered during efforts to record the Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside, this week I wanted to take a look at a slightly more modest group of plants familiar from urban spaces nationwide: Speedwells.

So far, I have recorded 16 species of Veronica in Newcastle and North Tyneside, a much more manageable number than the 72 grasses covered here. With their cheerful blue flowers and propensity to bloom for most of the year in urban settings, Speedwells are a charming family and more so than many other plants encountered locally, are associated with highly anthropogenic habitats. Flowerbeds, roadworks, path sides, pavements, and other areas of disturbed ground, all are worth a look.

As always, a big thank you to the iRecorders who have made their photos available for use in articles such as this. In this case, Chris Barlow, Pru Hamed, and David Jarema.

Native Speedwells

Of the speedwells encountered so far in the conurbation, only eight are British natives. The rest are either neophytes—recent human introductions—or archaeophytes introduced many years ago. Of the native species, only a handful can be described as ‘common’ throughout the area.

Foremost among these abundant species is Wall Speedwell (Veronica arvensis), recorded from 42 (25.6%) of monads so far. An annual of disturbed and cultivated habitats, this species is most often encountered growing within the hard, free-draining surfaces of walls, pavements, and wasteground but is equally at home in neglected flowerbeds and on the margins of amenity grasslands. Anecdotally, it is more abundant in suburban neighborhoods where the spraying of weeds is less common.

The next two species, Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) and Thyme-leaved Speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia), are grassland plants. The former, recorded from 31 (18.9%) monads, is still greatly under-recorded but has defied expectations somewhat by proving scarcer than anticipated across the area. Typically, it is found either in good-quality neutral grassland, often that of road verges, or as a weed in garden lawns. However, it also occurs on the edges of amenity woodland and within urban hedgerows. Thyme-leaved Speedwell, recorded from 24 (14.6%) monads, inhabits much the same habitat but appears genuinely scarcer. It seems to favor long-established grasslands in churchyards and parks but may pop up in any suitable grassland area. It should be noted that all plants encountered so far are of the subspecies Serpyllifolia. I would not expect to see subsp. humifusa here, nor have I.

Similar in appearance to Germander Speedwell, at least at first, Wood Speedwell (Veronica montana) is a real rarity in the conurbation with fewer than 10 records since 1990. The majority of these are centered on Newcastle’s wooded denes at Jesmond, Throckley, and Walbottle, with a few records from other older woodlands. So far, this species has been recorded from 5 (3%) monads, all of which, except for a small patch at Heaton Park, come from these areas. Even where present, this plant is rather scarce and seldom forms the extensive colonies seen elsewhere in the county—a result of habitat degradation?

While a common plant of acidic soils elsewhere in the country, Heath Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) is likewise rare in Newcastle and its surrounds, recorded from 3 (1.8%) monads so far. Since 2000, there have only been eight records of this attractive little plant, predominantly from land close to Gosforth Park, much of which was once heathland. It is also present within relic lowland heath at Havannah Nature Reserve, though the greatest densities can be found within Gosforth Nature Reserve.

The final three native speedwells recorded so far are all plants of wetland habitats. Two are very scarce indeed, with Marsh Speedwell (Veronica scutellata) recorded from just 2 (1.2%) monads around established wetlands at Gosforth and Havannah, and Blue Water-speedwell (Veronica anagallis-aquatica) noted from just 1 (0.6%) monad at Gosforth Nature Reserve, where it grows on the muddy margins of recent SUDS.

Thankfully, Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga) is more abundant, recorded from 13 (7.9%) monads so far. This species can be encountered in a variety of wetland habitats ranging from the edges of lakes and ponds, SUDS, and streamsides to ditches and small wet depressions in built-up areas. It also appears to be one of the first riparian species to colonise new ponds, as seen at Kingston Park and Great Park.

Archaeophytes

Thus far, I have only encountered two archaeophyte speedwells during the survey, and both are rather common within urban habitats. Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia) is a prolific colonist of cultivated land, found just about anywhere the ground has been disturbed but most often as a weed of pavements, flowerbeds, wall bases, and allotment plots. Examples in urban habitats tend to be of subsp. hederifolia, which tolerates more open habitats than subsp. lucorum, which thus far has only convincingly been recorded from shaded woodland and parks. Together, these have been recorded from 61 (37.2%) monads.

Green Field-speedwell (Veronica agrestis), recorded from 28 (17.1%) monads, is much more abundant than it ought to be given its inclusion on the Rare Plant Register for South Northumberland. Indeed, despite only being recorded about ten times between 2000 and 2018, it is proving to be a frequent plant of disturbed habitats, though notably those with drier, freer-draining substrates than similar species. It may well warrant downgrading from the register in due course.

Alien Speedwells

Non-native speedwells now, and we’ll start with the simplest one: American Speedwell (Veronica peregrina), recorded from just 1 (0.6%) monad. A weed of cultivated and urbanised land, this attractive little plant was found growing in long-forgotten planters outside the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel in North Tyneside. How long it has been there is unclear, but this seems to be a new population of what is, by all accounts, a rather rare neophyte locally.

Other alien speedwells are far more numerous. Take Common Field-speedwell (Veronica persica), for example, which genuinely seems to be the most abundant Veronica within the conurbation, recorded from 89 (54.3%) monads thus far. An annual of cultivated and disturbed soils, this species has an uncanny knack for popping up just about anywhere, from flowerbeds and pavements to arable fields and the margins of amenity grasslands. It will surely prove to be much more abundant still.

The same cannot be said for a similar species, Grey Field-speedwell (Veronica polita), which, while sharing the same habitats, appears altogether rare, recorded from just 4 (2.4%) monads to date. Past records of this species within the city are very scarce indeed, and befitting this, it has been recorded only scantly from a wall in Wallsend, a trodden path-side at Walker, and a few other locations.

Last but not least, we have Slender Speedwell (Veronica filiformis), recorded from 19 (11.6%) monads. Given its status as a successful weed of mown and amenity grassland, this one really ought to be more widespread, and I suspect it is significantly under-recorded due to my inability to access private gardens. Indeed, so far, it has predominantly been recorded from front lawns, churchyards, playing fields, and odd scraps of grassland left undeveloped within housing estates. Where present, it can be terribly abundant.

The final two Veronicas worthy of mention are not speedwells at all but Hebes. As they fall within the same family, they warrant inclusion here. Both Narrow-leaved Hebe (Veronica salicifolia) and Hedge Veronica (Veronica x franciscana) are rare escapes from cultivation in the conurbation, recorded from 3 (1.8%) and 2 (1.2%) monads, respectively. In the case of the former, where present, it appears to seed readily from older amenity plantings, while the latter seems to derive from planted garden hedges and is most commonly encountered within cracks in walls.

And there we have it, a round-up of the various speedwells encountered so far within Newcastle and North Tyneside. I have no doubt the numbers included here will change as the survey progresses, but at the very least, the results so far point to a few interesting trends.