_Veronica officinalis_
_Flowers_--Pale blue, very small, crowded on spike-like racemes from
axils of leaves, often from alternate axils. Calyx 4-parted; corolla of
4 lobes, lower lobe commonly narrowest; 2 divergent stamens inserted at
base and on either side of upper corolla lobe; a knob-like stigma on
solitary pistil. _Stem:_ From 3 to 10 in. long, hairy, often prostrate,
and rooting at joints. _Leaves:_ Opposite, oblong, obtuse, saw-edged,
narrowed at base. _Fruit:_ Compressed heart-shaped capsule, containing
numerous flat seeds.
_Preferred Habitat_--Dry fields, uplands, open woods.
_Flowering Season_--May-August.
_Distribution_--From Michigan and Tennessee eastward, also from Ontario
to Nova Scotia. Probably an immigrant from Europe and Asia.
An ancient tradition of the Roman Church relates that when Jesus was on
His way to Calvary, He passed the home of a certain Jewish maiden, who,
when she saw drops of agony on His brow, ran after Him along the road to
wipe His face with her kerchief. This linen, the monks declared, ever
after bore the impress of the sacred features--_vera iconica_, the true
likeness. When the Church wished to canonize the pitying maiden, an
abbreviated form of the Latin words was given her, St. Veronica, and her
kerchief became one of the most precious relics at St. Peter’s, where it
is said to be still preserved. Medieval flower lovers, whose piety
seems to have been eclipsed only by their imaginations, named this
little flower from a fancied resemblance to the relic. Of course,
special healing virtue was attributed to the square of pictured linen,
and since all could not go to Rome to be cured by it, naturally the next
step was to employ the common, wayside plant that bore the saint’s name.
Mental healers will not be surprised to learn that because of the strong
popular belief in its efficacy to cure all fleshly ills, it actually
seemed to possess miraculous powers. For scrofula it was said to be the
infallible remedy, and presently we find Linnaeus grouping this flower,
and all its relatives, under the family name of _Scrofulariaceae_.