Veronica beccabunga

Veronica beccabunga, the European speedwell or brooklime, is a succulent herb belonging to the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae. It grows on the margins of brooks and ditches in Europe, North Africa, and north and western Asia.[1] It can be found on other continents as an introduced species. It has smooth spreading branches, blunt oblong leaves and small bright blue or pink flowers.[1]

Veronica beccabunga
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Species:
V. beccabunga
Binomial name
Veronica beccabunga

The species name beccabunga comes from Danish bekkebunge (literally "brook bunch") or a similar source.[2]

Medicinal usage

Brooklime was one of three traditional antiscorbutic herbs (alongside scurvy grass and watercress), used in purported remedies for scurvy. However none of these herbs are rich in vitamin C and the usual preparation by extracting of juices would have destroyed most of their content, rendering the preparations ineffectual against true scurvy.[3]

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References
  1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brooklime" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 646.
  2. CalFlora Botanical Names
  3. Hughes, R.E. (1990). "The rise and fall of the "antiscorbutics": some notes on the traditional cures for "land scurvy"". Medical History. 34: 52–64. doi:10.1017/s0025727300050262. PMC 1036000. PMID 2405219.
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