Veronica beccabunga

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Plantaginaceae
Tribus: Veroniceae
Genus: Veronica
Subgenus: V. subg. Beccabunga
Species: Veronica beccabunga
Subspecies: V. b. subsp. abscondita – V. b. subsp. beccabunga – V. b. subsp. muscosa
Name

Veronica beccabunga L., (1753).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Cardia beccabunga (L.) Dulac, Fl. Hautes-Pyr. 390 (1867).
Veronica fontinalis Salisb., Prodr. (Salisbury) 91 (1796), nom. illeg.

References

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum 1: 12.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Veronica beccabunga in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.
Tela Botanica (ed.) 2000 onwards: Tela Botanica. Le réseau de la botanique francophone. eFlore. Veronica beccabunga. Association Tela Botanica, Montpellier, France. Accessed: 2011 Aug 16.

Vernacular names
العربية: زهرة الحواشي الغديرية
čeština: rozrazil potoční
Cymraeg: Llysiau Taliesin
dansk: Tykbladet Ærenpris
Deutsch: Bachbunge, Bach-Ehrenpreis, Bachbungen-Ehrenpreis
English: brooklime, European speedwell
Esperanto: Malsekema veroniko
español: becabunga, verónica acuática, berra, berraca, berraza, mata nueva, verónica berrera
eesti: Ojamailane
فارسی: ورونیکا بکابونا
suomi: Ojatädyke
français: Véronique des ruisseaux, Cresson de cheval, Salade de chouette
Gaelg: Burleek
hrvatski: Čestoslavica
hornjoserbsce: Rěčny rozraz, Bobrownik
Nederlands: Beekpunge
polski: Przetacznik bobowniczek
română: Bobornic
русский: Вероника поточная, Вероника поручейная
slovenčina: veronika potočná
svenska: Bäckveronika, Bäckgröna, Bäckveronica
Türkçe: At teresi
українська: Вероніка струмкова
中文: 有柄水苦

Veronica beccabunga, the European speedwell or brooklime, is a succulent herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae. It grows on the margins of brooks and ditches in Europe, North Africa, and north and western Asia.[1] It can be found on other continents as an introduced species. It has smooth spreading succulent branches that are often reddish, blunt oblong finely serrate leaves in opposite pairs close to the stem, and small bright blue or pink flowers with four petals.[1]

The species name beccabunga comes from Danish bekkebunge (literally "brook bunch") or a similar source.[2]
Medicinal usage

Brooklime was one of three traditional antiscorbutic herbs (alongside scurvy grass and watercress), used in purported remedies for scurvy. However none of these herbs are rich in vitamin C and the usual preparation by extracting of juices would have destroyed most of their content, rendering the preparations ineffectual against true scurvy.[3]
References

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brooklime" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 646.
CalFlora Botanical Names
Hughes, R.E. (1990). "The rise and fall of the "antiscorbutics": some notes on the traditional cures for "land scurvy"". Medical History. 34 (1): 52–64. doi:10.1017/s0025727300050262. PMC 1036000. PMID 2405219.