Corn Speedwell Identification Guide
Identify corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis) by its tiny blue four-lobed flowers, small scalloped hairy leaves, and upright heart-shaped seed capsules in lawns and gardens.
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Key Identifying Features
Corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis) is a small, low winter annual broadleaf weed of lawns, gardens, and disturbed ground. It is easy to overlook because of its size, but the tiny blue four-lobed flowers, small scalloped lower leaves, and flat heart-shaped seed capsules are distinctive once you look closely.
- Very small (about 1/8 inch) blue/violet flowers with four lobes
- Lower leaves rounded, scalloped, hairy, and opposite
- Upper leaves narrow, alternate, and untoothed (bract-like)
- Flat, heart-shaped (notched) seed capsules
Leaves & Stems
The lower leaves are small, oval to rounded, with scalloped (toothed) edges, hairy, and arranged in opposite pairs. Moving up the flowering stem, leaves become smaller, narrower, alternate, and smooth-edged, grading into bracts beneath the flowers. Stems are slender, hairy, and upright to spreading, only 2-10 inches tall, often branching at the base into small tufts.
Flowers & Fruit
Corn speedwell flowers in spring (often early). Flowers are minute, pale blue to lavender, with four rounded lobes (the lower lobe slightly smaller), borne singly in the axils of the upper leaves on very short stalks. The fruit is diagnostic: a flat, heart-shaped (deeply notched) seed capsule held upright, slightly hairy, splitting to release tiny seeds. The notched capsule and tiny blue flower together are a reliable confirmation.
How to Tell It Apart from Look-Alikes
- Other speedwells (Veronica spp.): persian and creeping speedwells have larger flowers on long stalks and rounder leaves; corn speedwell has tiny near-stalkless flowers and the upper leaves become narrow.
- Chickweed: has white star flowers and no notched heart-shaped capsule.
- Henbit/dead-nettle: have square stems and pink-purple tubular flowers, very different from speedwell's flat blue blooms.
The tiny 4-lobed blue flower + scalloped hairy lower leaves + heart-shaped flat capsule + winter-annual habit confirm corn speedwell.
Where You'll Find It
A common cool-season weed of lawns, turf, gardens, fields, sidewalk edges, and disturbed soils throughout North America and Eurasia. It germinates in fall, overwinters as a small plant, and flowers in early spring before dying back in summer heat.
Quick ID Checklist
- Small winter-annual, 2-10 inches
- Tiny blue/violet 4-lobed flowers
- Scalloped, hairy, opposite lower leaves
- Narrow, alternate, smooth upper leaves
- Flat heart-shaped (notched) seed capsules
- Flowers in early spring in lawns and gardens
Frequently asked questions
What does corn speedwell flower look like?
A tiny blue to lavender flower, only about an eighth of an inch wide, with four rounded lobes. The flowers are nearly stalkless in the upper leaf axils.
When does corn speedwell appear?
It is a winter annual: seeds germinate in fall, the plant overwinters as a small rosette, and it flowers in early spring, then dies as summer heat arrives.
How can I confirm it apart from other speedwells?
Corn speedwell has very small, nearly stalkless flowers and narrow alternate upper leaves, plus a flat, heart-shaped seed capsule. Larger speedwells have showier flowers on long stalks and rounder leaves throughout.
Is corn speedwell hard to see in a lawn?
Yes, it is small and low-growing, so it is easy to miss until it flowers in early spring, when patches of tiny blue blooms become noticeable.