Japanese name: ムシクサ（虫草） Scientific name:Veronica peregrina
[Overview]
An annual 10–20 cm tall, found in damp places such as fields and paddy ridges.
The stem is upright and may bear sparse glandular hairs.
Leaves are simple, opposite on the lower part of the stem and alternate on the upper part.
The leaves are broadly linear to narrowly ovate, 0.8–2.5 cm long and 0.2–0.5 cm wide, with one thick vein.
The leaf margin has a few low serrations or is entire.
The leaves become smaller toward the top of the stem and gradually change into bracts.
Single flowers are borne in the leaf axils in the upper part of the stem.
The corolla is 4-lobed, 0.2 cm across, and white tinged with pale pink.
The fruit is a flattened-spherical capsule with a slightly notched tip.
[Notes]
The Japanese name came from the fact that galls often form on the fruit.
