The Brooklime Speedwell is quite as common as its cousin the blue
Germander Speedwell, but it grows in damp places. You find it in ditches
and beside slow-running streams, and the flowers are in bloom from
spring to autumn.
The plant has a round juicy stem, which is hollow in the middle. It
rises straight up from its muddy bed.
The flowers have four small petals which are a dull blue in colour, and
are not very attractive.
In the centre of the flower there is a tiny blue ring, and to this ring
are fastened the two red-headed stamens.
The seed-vessel is a small green dot with a spike at the top. It is so
tiny that you can scarcely see it until the blue petals have fallen off.
Behind the flower there are four small green sepals.
The leaves of the Brooklime Speedwell are smooth and glossy. They are
oval with blunt points, and the edges are waved. These leaves grow in
pairs opposite each other, and have very short stalks which widen out at
the foot so as to clasp the stem.
The flowers grow in loose heads on a long thin stalk, which springs from
between the leaf and the stem.