Foothills, montane.  Streamsides, bogs.  Summer.
Near Forbay Lake Trail, July 12, 2007.

Foothills, montane.  Streamsides, bogs.  Summer.
Near Forbay Lake Trail, July 12, 2007.

Veronica americana is found in western, northern, and northeastern states in wet areas.  It often occurs in large numbers, sprouting new plants from the roots of older plants.  Flowers are only 5-10 millimeters across and are borne in long racemes that emerge from leaf axils.

Ludwig Schweinitz (1780-1834) named this plant before his death, but the name was not published until 1846.

Foothills, montane.  Streamsides, bogs.  Summer.
Near Forbay Lake Trail, July 12, 2007.

Montane, subalpine.  Streamsides, meadows.  Summer.
Upper Calico Trail, July 13, 2004.

Veronica nutans has a wide range of blooming times and habitats and shapes and sizes. It blooms from June into September, from high meadows to alpine areas. It is sometimes quite slender and only a few inches tall but can grow to 14 inches. It always has tiny, dainty flowers easily overlooked. Veronica is inconspicuous but very common along trails.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753.  "Veronica" is for St. Veronica, who supposedly gave a small cloth to Jesus to wipe his face. Marks on some species of Veronica plants reminded someone of the story of marks on Veronica’s cloth. "Nutans" is Latin for "nodding".

Montane, subalpine.  Streamsides, meadows.  Summer.
Upper Calico Trail, July 13, 2004.

Montane, subalpine.  Streamsides, wet meadows.  Summer.
Lizard Head Meadow, June 23, 2006.

This lovely miniature enjoys having wet roots, so you will find it in wet meadows a few weeks after snows are gone, along mountain seeps, and next to streams.  As soon as you move a few feet back from these areas to drier ground, you will no longer find the plant.  

Lower stems are weak and recline along the ground, rooting in at leaf nodes and making a small carpet of leaves.  From these arise flower stems said to be from three to twelve inches tall, but I have never seen them over five inches tall.  Although the plant has numerous, attractive flowers, it is difficult to find because it grows in a lush environment surrounded and surmounted by grasses and numerous other herbaceous plants.

From the height of a human, Veronicastrum serpyllifolium might be mistaken for Astragalus alpina, for the color and general montane habitat are similar, but a closer hands and knees inspection will show the two plants to be quite different.

Veronicastrum serpyllifolium is widespread through the Western and Eastern United States.

Montane, subalpine.  Streamsides, wet meadows.  Summer.
Lizard Head Meadow, June 23, 2006.

Linnaeus named this plant Veronica serpyllifolia in 1753, it underwent several name changes in the 18th and 19th century, and William Weber renamed it Veronicastrum serpyllifolium at the end of the 20th century.  Most botanists accept the name, Veronica serpyllifolia.  "Veronicastrum" means "little Veronica" and "serpyllifolium" is Latin for "creeping [i.e., "serpentine"] leaves".