The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata

Etymology

Veronica: Named after Saint Veronica, who gave Jesus her veil to wipe his brow as he carried the cross through Jerusalem, perhaps because the common name of this plant is 'speedwell'. The name Veronica is often believed to derive from the Latin vera 'truth' and iconica 'image', but it is actually derived from the Macedonian name Berenice which means 'bearer of victory'.
cheesemanii: Named after Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (1846 - 15 October 1923) who was a New Zealand botanist and naturalist who, in 1906, produced The Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
flabellata: fan shaped; from the Latin flabellum; shape of the leaves

Common Name(s)

Arthurs Pass Parahebe

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2012 - DP, RR

Authority

Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata (Garn.-Jones) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Parahebe cheesemanii subsp. flabellata Garn.-Jones

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Arthurs Pass National Park)

Habitat

Alpine. Inhabiting gritty and silt soils within stable screes, also on cliff faces and very rarely growing at the margins of small tarns.

Features

Cushion-forming subshrub, 10-40 mm tall. Stem and branchlets brown. Branches prostrate to ascending. Vegetative internodes 1-12 mm long. Stem pubescence uniform, eglandular pubescent. Leaves erect to erecto-patent or recurved (in distal portion). Lamina elliptic or orbicular, 2-5 × 2–3 mm. Upper surface of leaves dull bronze green or dark green. Under surface of leaves dull bronze green or dark green. Leaf hairs sparse, numerous or absent, unicellular eglandular (hairs 0.3-0.5 mm long on petioles). Apex subacute to obtuse. Base cuneate. Margin minutely papillate or denticulate, crenate or lobed. Marginal teeth or lobes in 2-5 pairs. Petiole 3-6 mm long. Inflorescence 1-2(-3)-flowered, 2-10 mm long at fruiting. Indumentum of peduncle, rachis, and pedicels dense. Peduncle 0-20 mm long, eglandular-pubescent. Rachis 0-20 long, eglandular-pubescent. Bracts paired, opposite, obtuse or subacute, eglandular-hairy above and eglandular-hairy below, spathulate. Bract margins shallowly to deeply lobed. Pedicels patent at anthesis, straight at fruiting, 0-2 mm long, eglandular-pubescent. Flowers: Calyx 4(–5)-lobed, 4–7 mm long, lobes oblanceolate, oblong, spathulate, subacute to obtuse. Calyx hairs on both abaxial and adaxial surfaces, eglandular. Calyx lobe margins shallowly lobed. Corolla white at anthesis. Nectar guides absent. Corolla throat same colour as lobes. Corolla 4-7 mm diameter. Corolla tube 3.5-7.0 × 1.5-2.0 mm, glabrous or shortly hairy outside. Corolla lobes glabrous or pubescent below. Posterior corolla lobe circular, elliptic or deltoid, obtuse, emarginate or divided in two, 2-3 × 2-4 mm. Lateral corolla lobes circular or elliptic, obtuse, flat, not enfolding stamens, 2-4 × 2-4 mm. Anterior corolla lobe elliptic, obtuse, 2.0-3.0 × 1.5-2.5 mm. Stamen filaments white, 1.5-2.0 mm long, not narrowed at base. Anthers pink to magenta, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Nectarial disc glabrous. Ovary ovoid or globose, obtuse, eglandular hairy, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Style 1.5–2.5 mm long. Capsules strongly flattened, emarginate to didymous, 3-4 × 3-4 mm, 2-3 mm thick, hairy. Hairs eglandular. Septicidal split of capsule extending ½-way to base (split to base in old capsules). Loculicidal split of capsule extending ¾ way to base or to base. Seeds ellipsoid to obovoid, pale brown to dark brown, 0.6-1.1 × 0.5-0.7 mm.

Similar Taxa

Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata differs from subsp. cheesemanii by the elliptic or orbicular, crenate to shallowly pinnatifid leaves which are lobed ½-way, and by the petiole hairs which are 0.3-0.5 mm long. For other details see under subsp. cheesemanii.

Flowering

December - January

Flower Colours

Red / Pink,White

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Best grown in a rock garden or alpine house in a sunny position with a cool root run.

Threats

Range Restricted - known from only a few locations where it can be at times locally common. However, the total area it occupies is very small. There are no known threats.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 16 Feb 2016