Kemsing Speedwells

Germander Speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.
Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

At Kemsing Down on 12th April we saw five species of lovely little Speedwells.  Their bright blue flowers always make me cheerful.  This one, Germander Speedwell, has its flowers in racemes, sprouting from a stem that curls up from among the top leaves.  It's the showiest species, here just starting out.  This plant was up on the hilltop, but the other species were further down near the town.

Common Field Speedwell, Veronica persica.  Saville Row, Hayes, on 13 April 2014.

I went to photograph some Common Field Speedwell, which was abundant, and when I got home, I found I had a different, superficially similar species ... still, it's abundant in most places, so I walked a few paces from my front door for this illustration.  It has single flowers rising from the leaf axils, and the lower petal - the small one - tends to be whiter than the rest.

So here's what I actually photographed on the day ...

Slender Speedwell, Veronica filiformis.  Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

(And even that wasn't a brilliant shot.)  A Slender Speedwell.  This species has kidney-shaped leaves without the prominent jaggies.  Growing in the same field were lots of these:

Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Veronica serpyllifolia.
Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

Thyme-leaved Speedwells. A different flower colour, but they have a similar shape.  The leaves are very different.  And finally, by the side of a path were clumps of this one:

Ivy-leaved Speedwell, Veronica hederifolia subspecies lucorum.
Kemsing Down with the Orpington Field Club on 12 April 2014.

Ivy-leaved Speedwell.  Broad leaves, and tiny mauve flowers that are almost invisible until you get right down and look. 

I like Speedwells.  Next time, some insects.