Water Speedwell
Veronica anagallis-aquatica
Found in bogs, marshes, streamsides, ditches. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Moist to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial
- Bloom
- April to September
- Fruiting season
- July to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 9 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

Habitats
Freshwater marshes; streams, rivers and their banks; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 117 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CootFulica americana
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
Who uses this plant?
6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Veronica
- Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Stenoptilodes taprobanesNarrow Plume Moth
- Carmenta corni
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Flower color
- White or purple
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to September” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Biennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























