Species

Veronica linifolia

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'.
linifolia: narrow-leaved

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 linifolia Hook.f.

Family

Plantaginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PARLIN

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Parahebe linifolia (Hook.f.) W.R.B.Oliv. subsp. linifolia, Parahebe linifolia (Hook.f.) W.R.B.Oliv.

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (North-Western Nelson to the Rangitata River, on both sides of the main divide).

Habitat

Montane to subalpine. Inhabiting cliffs, rock outcrops, braided rivers (on river gravel), and river banks.

Features

Low subshrub up to 300 mm tall. Stems brown. Branches decumbent to ascending. Branchlets brown or green. Vegetative internodes 1-10 mm long. Stem bifariously eglandular-pubescent only at distal end of internodes. Leaves erect to reflexed. Lamina linear to oblong (narrowly), 10.0-30.0 × 1.5-3.5 mm. Upper surface of leaves glossy, green; lower surface of leaves dull, pale green. Leaf hairs sparse to scattered, along margins (especially at base), eglandular. Apex rounded. Base cuneate. Margin entire, ciliate (especially at base). Petiole 1.5-4.0 mm long. Inflorescence racemose, 1-8-flowered, unbranched, 30-70 mm long at fruiting; peduncle, rachis, and pedicels glabrous. Peduncle 0.5-40 mm long. Rachis 4-42 mm long. Bracts alternate (basal pair sometimes subopposite), linear to narrowly deltoid, obtuse, glabrous or eglandular ciliate near base, margins entire. Pedicels 8-40 mm long, glabrous. Flowers white, sometimes blue, rarely pink at anthesis, corolla throat yellow. Nectar guides evident present on posterior and lateral corolla lobes, colour ring and nectar guides magenta or purple (NW Nelson). Calyx 4-lobed, 4-7 mm long, glabrous or sparsely eglandular hairy on margins; lobes glabrous, lanceolate, deltoid, elliptic or obovate, acute to subacute (acuminate by infolding near apex), entire. Corolla 12-17 mm diameter, tube 0.5-1.5 × 1.0-1.5 mm, hairy inside, hairs long. Stamen filaments white, 4-8 mm long, narrowed at base. Anthers rarely white or pink or magenta, 1.5-2.2 mm long. Nectarial disc ciliolate. Ovary ellipsoid, emarginate, glabrous or apex eglandular hairy, 1.0-1.7 mm long. Style 4-9 mm long. Capsules weakly flattened, didymous, 3.0-4.5 × 3.5-4.5 mm, usually glabrous. Septicidal split of capsule extending to base, loculicidal split extending 1/3–½-way to base. Seeds ellipsoid, obovoid, discoid, pale brown, dark brown or brown, 0.7-1.3 × 0.5-0.9 mm

Similar Taxa

Veronica linifolia is morphologicallly similar to V. colostylis. Both taxa have linear, entire leaves, reduced inflorescences, and broad woody capsules. From Veronica colostylis, V. linifolia differs by the corolla tube which is 0.5–1.5 mm long and hairy inside rather than 1.2-3.5 mm long, and glabrous; by the spreading rather than suberect lobes; conspicuous nectar guides (lacking V. colostylis); by the stamen filaments 4–8 mm rather than 1–3 mm long; and by the style 4-9 mm rather than 2-4 mm long. Veronica linifolia is predominantly outcrossing and V. colostylis is exclusively autogamous.

Flowering

October - February

Flower Colours

Blue,White

Fruiting

November - May

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from cuttings, rooted pieces and fresh seed. Plants dislikes drought and humidity.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 42

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not Commercially Available.

 



Attribution

Fact Sheet by P.J. de Lange (5 October 2006). Description adapted from Garnock-Jones and Lloyd (2003).

References and further reading

Garnock-Jones, P.J.; Lloyd, D.G. 2003: A taxonomic revision of Parahebe (Plantaginaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 181-232.

This page last updated on 16 Feb 2016