Notes on Veronica vindobonensis

Fig. 1. Veronica cf. vindobonensis (M.A.Fisch.) M.A.Fisch. (on the right) and V. chamaedrys L. (ssp. chamaedrys) (on the left) (Finland, Lohja, Jalassaari, 2004). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from fresh plants).

Fig. 2. Veronica cf. vindobonensis (Finland, Lohja, Jalassaari, 2004). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimen).

The plants in the images were found in the spring in meadow-like vegetation on somewhat calcareous soils. Actually, the locality was my kitchen garden, exactly where I sowed pea! V. vindobonensis only occurred in one or two small stands among the ubiquitous V. chamaedrys. The fairly recently described diploid V. vindobonensis (Scrophulariaceae) differs from the very closely related tetraploid V. chamaedrys L. in that (i) all leaves (including the lowest ones that already have withered at the time of flowering) are incised, with a tall obtuse terminal segment (vs. dentate, some teeth tending to have an indistinct secondary tooth), (ii) the leaves are somewhat less densely hairy (esp. on upper surface), (iii) the hairs of the stem are generally arranged in narrower lines, and (iv) the hairs of the stem are shorter.
    Both species vary somewhat as to the features of the indumentum but V. vindobonensis often possesses more glandular hairs than V. chamaedrys. The plants in Fig. 1 happen to represent the opposite extremes: the hairs of the cauline leaves of the former are practically all glandular ones while almost all the hairs of the latter are simple hairs (glandular ones only occurring in the basal thirds of the calyces)! The plants thus approach V. vindobonensis var. omninoglandulosa Sennikov and V. chamaedrys ssp. chamaedrys var. eglandulosa M.A.Fisch., respectively.
    The locality of the depicted plant lies in SW Finland. I have also found the species near by, in Siuntio (in 1987). At present, it is impossible to tell whether V. vindobonensis is indigenous in Finland, and in that case, which are its original habitats.
    The main distribution area of the poorly known V. vindobonensis lies in eastern and southeastern Europe. As compared with V. chamaedrys, the somewhat thermophilic V. vindobonensis is said to favour somewhat more open, drier and warmer habitats. In northern Europe, V. vindobonensis is known from Estonia, Latvia and Russia (Sennikov, A. N. 1995: Bot. Zhurnal 80(5): 15-18) but has not been reported from Finland. However, a forma named V. chamaedrys f. incisa Froel. has actually been reported as very infrequent from our country; such plants were considered of negligible taxonomic value but they should be scrutinized to find out whether they in fact represent V. vindobonensis.
    The differences between V. chamaedrys and my supposed V. vindobonensis that are listed above (admittedly on the basis of rather scanty material) slightly deviate from those given in the original and a later diagnosis of V. vindobonensis. Consequently, it remains to be ascertained whether the present plant is fully identical with the Central European diploid. The taxonomic position of a few plants that are somewhat intermediate between the two species remains to be cleared up.