Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species. It was formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. Common names include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed.
Taxonomy for this genus was changed in the early 21st century, with the genus Hebe and the related Australasian genera Derwentia, Detzneria, Chionohebe, Heliohebe, Leonohebe and Parahebe now included. Monophyly of the genus is supported by nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and cpDNA.
The taxa of the genus are herbaceous annuals or perennials, and also subshrubs, shrubs or small trees when Hebe is included. Most of the species are from the temperate Northern Hemisphere, though with some species from the Southern Hemisphere; Veronica sect. Hebe is mostly from New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The genus name Veronica used in binomial nomenclature was chosen by Carl Linnaeus based on preexisting common usage of the name veronica in many European languages for plants in this group. Such use in English is attested as early as 1572. The name probably reflects a connection with Saint Veronica, whose Latin name is ultimately derived from Greek, Berenice.
In 1769, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander collected plants in the Southern Hemisphere that were later published in the genus Veronica, such as Veronica pubescens and Veronica stricta. Although the genus Hebe was established in 1789, few botanists initially accepted it, continuing to use Veronica. From the 1920s onwards, New Zealand botanists in particular began to use other genera; for example, V. pubescens was transferred to Hebe by Leonard Cockayne and Harry Allan in 1927, and V. stricta to Hebe by Lucy Moore in 1961. By the beginning of the 21st century, a range of genera were used for the "Hebe complex" consisting of Southern Hemisphere species related to Veronica, including Chionohebe, Derwentia, Detzneria, Hebe, Heliohebe, Leonohebe and Parahebe. However, molecular phylogenetic...
