Veronica cardiocarpa (Kar. & Kir.) Walp.

Only Veronica cardiocarpa var. cardiocarpa occurs in China.

Annuals. Stems erect, pubescent. Leaves 4, below inflorescence, whorled or nearly so; petiole 2-5 mm; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 1-2.5 X 0.5-1.5 cm, widest in middle or below middle, base rounded, margin dentate. Racemes terminal; bracts alternate, much smaller than leaves, margin sparsely deltoid dentate. Pedicel 5-8(-12) mm in fruit, as long as or longer than calyx, shorter to longer than bract in fruit, patent, straight or slightly curved below top. Calyx 4-lobed, 6-12 mm in fruit, ca. 2 X as long as capsule, laterally parted to 1/2-2/3 length; lobes rhomboid-ovate, sparsely ciliate, apex short acuminate, veins 2 or 3. Corolla rotate, 2-4 mm in diam. Capsule obcordate, strongly compressed, 2-4.5 X 4.5-5.5 mm, deeply notched; lobes ovate-orbicular, obtuse. Style 0.5-0.8 mm, ca. 1/2 as long as notch. Seeds 6-8 per capsule, yellow, ovoid, cupular, ca 1.2-1.8 X 0.9-1.2 mm; seed coat smooth or nearly so. Fl. Mar-Apr.

Stony slopes, forests, meadows at forest edges. Xinjiang [Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, S Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia (N Iran)].

Diplophyllum cardiocarpum Karelin & Kirilov, Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou 15: 417. 1842.