FIGWORT FAMILY. SCROPHULARIACEAE.

Fig 165. [Butter and Eggs. Toad-Flax. Linaria vulgaris] Hill. Linaria Linaria (L.) Karst.

Butter and Eggs. Toad-Flax. Linaria vulgaris Hill. Linaria Linaria (L.) Karst. Flowers yellow and orange; seeds dark brown or black, flat, circular or oval, surrounded by a broad wing-margin, the wing notched and covered by numerous fine radiating ridges, the surface of the seed roughened by numerous projecting points, seed, including its wing, 1.5–2 mm. long. Introduced from Europe. A vigorous weed in meadows, spreading by seeds and by root stocks.

Fig 166. [Moth Mullein. Verbascum Blattaria] L.

Moth Mullein. Verbascum Blattaria L. Flowers yellow; pod 6 mm. diameter; seeds light to dark brown, .5–1 mm. long, columnar, lateral surface slightly angular and 6-sided, base truncate or obliquely so and broader than the rounded apex, thus somewhat thimble-shaped, each lateral face deeply pitted in longitudinal rows, the pits in contiguous rows, alternating. Introduced from Europe. A vile weed in meadows and pastures.

Velvet-Leaved Mullein. Verbascum Thapsus L. Flowers yellow; pod 6 mm. high; seeds cannot be distinguished with certainty by means of the ordinary lens from those of moth mullein. The pitted surface seems to predominate in Verbascum Blattaria, while the grooved surface seems to be more common in the seeds of V. Thapsus. Introduced from Europe. Common in thin pastures.

Fig 167. [Wall Speedwell. Veronica arvensis] L.

Wall Speedwell. Veronica arvensis L. Pods heart-shaped; seeds dull, light yellow, flattened, oval, .7–1.1 mm. long on one side appearing as though the two ends had been brought together by bending. From Europe.

Fig 168. [Common Speedwell. Veronica officinalis] L.

Common Speedwell. Veronica officinalis L. Pods heart-shaped; seeds dull, pale yellow, flattened, broadly oval to broadly obovate, .8–1.2 mm. long, with a small scar near the middle of one side, from which extends a faint line (raphe) to one extremity. Appearing as though introduced.

Fig 169. [Purslane Speedwell. Veronica peregrina] L.

Purslane Speedwell. Veronica peregrina L. Pods heart-shaped; seeds dull, light reddish yellow, flattened, oval to broadly obovate .5-.8 mm. long, with a small scar a little above the middle of one side, from which extends a dark line (raphe) to one extremity. Most likely native to this country.

Fig 170. [Thyme-leaved Speedwell. Veronica serpyllifolia] L.

Thyme-leaved Speedwell. Veronica serpyllifolia L. Pods broadly heart-shaped; seeds pale yellow, a trifle darker than those of V. officinalis, light, reddish yellow, in shape and markings much like those of V. peregrina, flattened, broadly oval to obovate .5-.7 mm. long, with a small scar near the middle on one side, from which extends a dark line (raphe) to one extremity.

Apparently native to this country.

Seeds of the Veronicas are very difficult to distinguish from one another.