In New Flora of the British Isles Edition 3 (2010) by Clive Stace, Veronica agrestis is thought to be an archeophyte (a plant introduced to the British Isles before 1500 AD) but in previous editions it was believed to be a native plant.

The "green" part of the name refers to the light green colouration of the foliage not the flower. I find that some of the flowers are blue but often they are very pale or white like this one. The plant looks like a poor specimen of Veronica persica until you look more closely at the seeds. The two seeds of Veronica persica have axes pointing away from each other making an obtuse angle but in Veronica agrestis the axis is parallel. In addition the leaves are usually alternate except at the bottom of the flowering stem.

Veronica agrestis is very common throughout England and Wales. In Scotland it is commonest in th south and prefers the east in the far north. It does occur on the outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland.

Cheshire field 1st May 2005

Added on 2nd May 2005, updated 23rd April 2006, updated 20th February 2012