The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica decora

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'.
decora: Beautiful

Common Name(s)

Parahebe

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

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 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Veronica decora (Ashwin) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PARDEC

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Parahebe decora Ashwin

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island(Nelson, eastern Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, to Southland).

Habitat

Montane to subalpine, Usually found on rubbly ground such as braided riverbeds, screes, moraines, stony ground and in stone-strewn grassland

Features

Subshrub 10-30 mm tall. Old stems brown to grey. Branches prostrate or decumbent. Branchlets red-brown to black. Vegetative internodes 0.5-15.0 mm long. Stem pubescence uniform or bifarious (rarely), eglandular pubescent (hairs curly). Leaves decussate, spreading to recurved. Lamina obovate to orbicular or lyrate, 1.5-5.0 × 1.0-5.0 mm. Upper surface of leaves green to dark green (often red-tinged), glossy. Under surface of leaves pale green or pinkish, dull. Leaf hairs sparse or rarely numerous, along margins, or on petiole or on upper surface or on under surface (rarely), eglandular, curly. Apex rounded. Base cuneate. Margin glabrous, crenate or lobed. Marginal teeth or lobes in 1(–2) pairs. Petiole 0.5-1.5 mm long. Inflorescence racemose, unbranched, 60-250 mm long at fruiting, with 3-20 flowers. Indumentum of peduncle, rachis, and pedicels absent to moderately dense. Eglandular hairs of inflorescence antrorse, white. Peduncle 40-150 long, glabrous to eglandular-pubescent; hairs all around peduncle. Rachis 2-100 mm long, eglandular-pubescent, hairs all around rachis. Bracts alternate to alternate but with a basal whorl of 3, obtuse to subacute, eglandular ciliate (especially near base), lanceolate to elliptic. Bract margins entire. Pedicels erectopatent at anthesis to suberect at anthesis, straight at fruiting, 2-10 mm long, glabrous or eglandular-puberulent; hairs all around pedicel. Flowers: Calyx 4-lobed, 2-3 mm long. Calyx lobes oblanceolate to obovate, acute to subacute. Calyx hairs on margins only, mixed eglandular and glandular. Calyx lobe margins entire. Corolla white at anthesis or pink at anthesis. Nectar guides evident, confined to posterior corolla lobe or present on posterior and lateral corolla lobes. Colour ring and nectar guides magenta. Corolla throat yellow. Corolla 6-12 mm diameter. Corolla tube 1 mm long, 1 mm wide, hairy inside, hairs short. Corolla lobes glabrous. Posterior corolla lobe circular, obtuse, 3-6 × 3-7 mm. Lateral corolla lobes circular to elliptic, obtuse, longitudinally folded around stamens, 4.0-4.5 × 3.5-4.0 mm. Anterior corolla lobe oblong to linear, obtuse, 4-5 × 1-2 mm. Stamen filaments white, 3–4(–5) mm long, narrowed at base. Anthers white or pink or magenta, 0.9-1.2 mm long. Nectarial disc ciliolate. Ovary ellipsoid, obtuse, glabrous, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Style 3.0-4.0 mm long. Stigma 0.15 mm wide. Capsules weakly flattened, emarginate, 4.0-4.5 × 3.0-4.0 mm, 2–2.5(–3) mm thick, glabrous. Septicidal split of capsule extending to base. Loculicidal split of capsule extending ½–¾ way to base. Seeds strongly flattened, smooth-surfaced, ellipsoid to discoid, straw yellow to pale brown, 0.8-0.9 × 0.6-0.8 mm

Similar Taxa

Veronica decora is easily recognised by its prostrate habit, very dark stems, small glossy dark green leaves (usually with only one pair of crenations), uniform stem pubescence, and stout, tall, erect racemes with the three lowermost flowers often in a whorl. It

Flowering

September - December

Flower Colours

Red / Pink,White

Fruiting

November - June

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from cuttings, rooted pieces and fresh seed.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 40

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 16 Feb 2016