Growth and flowering characteristics of Veronica native to Korea and their crossings

C.Y. Song, J.Y. Moon, S.Y. Kim
Veronica is a perennial plant, 11 species of which are native to South Korea. It is mostly distributed in mountainous areas with an elevation of more than 500 m and a gradient above 20°. The six kinds of Veronica among them, which include V. kiusiana var. glabrifolia (Kitag.) Kitag., V. pyrethrina Nakai, V. dahurica Steven, V. kiusiana var. diamantiaca (Nakai) T. Yamaz., V. pusanensis (Y.N. Lee) Y.N. Lee, and V. nakaianum Ohwi, were investigated for their growth or flowering characteristics. Veronica kiusiana var. glabrifolia (Kitag.) Kitag., native in most mountains of South Korea, grows above 70 cm in height with vertical stems. Leaf shapes are lanceolate of acute serrate and the color is light green. The raceme spike is about 30 cm in length, flowering is from July to August and the corolla is sky blue. Veronica pyrethrina Nakai is native to Chilgok, Uiseong, Cheongsong, and Cheongdo in Gyeongsangbukdo and grows 30 to 50 cm in height with vertical stems. Leaf shapes are oval and completely split into feathers, and the color is green. The raceme spike arising from axils of the stem is about 15 cm length flowering in August, and the corolla is blueish purple. Veronica dahurica Steven is native to most parts of Korea and grows to around 50 cm in height and vertical stems have dense curly hair. Leaves are feathery oval and colored green. The raceme spike arising from axils of the stem is about 15 cm in length, flowering from August to September and the corolla is sky blue. Veroica kiusiana var. diamantiaca (Nakai) T. Yamaz. native in Mt. Seorak, grows to 25 to 30 cm in height with vertical stems. Leaf shapes are ovate of crenate double lobation and the color is green. The raceme spike is about 10 cm in length, flowering from July to August and the corolla is light violet. Veronica pusanensis (Y.N. Lee) Y.N. Lee is native to Busan, grows to around 20 cm in height, and the prostrate stem has dense curly white hair. Leaf shapes are ovate of lobation and the color is green. The raceme spike arising from axils of the stem is about 10 cm in length, flowering from July to August and the corolla is blue. Veronica nakaiana Ohwi is native to Seonginbong on Ulleung, grows to around 30 cm in height with vertical stems. Leaves are ovate of double lobation and green. The raceme spike is about 15 cm in length, flowering from June to July and the corolla is light blue. When the native Veronica species were grown in the greenhouse, the plant height, number of leaves, or spike length were superior than those of species grown naturally in their habitats. The ripened seed number of spikes was different depending on the species, ranging from 90 to 140. In some crossings of the native Veronica, the growth and flowering characteristics, such as the number of leaves, length of spikes were increased compared to the natives itself. The crossing of V. kiusiana var. glabrifolia (Kitag.) Kitag. × V. pyrethrina Nakai had a plant height of about 70 cm and long flowering time exceeding 70 days, which is suitable for a garden plant. The crossing of V. pusanensis (Y.N. Lee) Y.N. Lee × V. pyrethrina Nakai was less than 36 cm tall, growing prostrate, which is suitable for a ground cover plant.
Song, C.Y., Moon, J.Y. and Kim, S.Y. (2020). Growth and flowering characteristics of Veronica native to Korea and their crossings. Acta Hortic. 1291, 33-44
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1291.5
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1291.5
perennials, inflorescence, seed, garden plants
English

Acta Horticulturae