About Veronica cusickii A.Gray
Veronica cusickii, commonly called Cusick's speedwell, is a flowering plant species belonging to the plantain family. It is native to western North America, ranging from British Columbia to Montana and northern California, and grows in mountain meadows and forests. This rhizomatous perennial herb produces a hairy, glandular stem that grows upright or erect, reaching up to 15 to 20 centimeters tall. Its oval leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the stem, with each leaf blade reaching a maximum length of 2.5 centimeters. The inflorescence is a terminal raceme of flowers, carried on hairy, glandular pedicels. Each flower has dark, hairy sepals and a flat corolla that is about one centimeter wide or slightly wider. The corolla has four deep blue-purple lobes with whitish bases; the top lobe is the largest, as it is actually formed by the fusion of two lobes. Two long, protruding stamens sit at the center of the flower.
