The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica masoniae

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'.
masoniae: Honours Ruth Mason (1913-90), former botanist at DSIR Botany Division (and co-worker of L. B. Moore), who recognised some of the distinguishing features of the species.

Common Name(s)

Hebe

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 masoniae (L.B.Moore) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Low growing shrub with widely spaced erect twigs bearing pairs of small oval leaves that have a sharp shoulder where they join the leaf stalk inhabiting Northwest Nelson. Leaves 6-9mm long by 4-8mm wide. Flowers white or pinkish, in small clusters of 2-10 at tips of twigs.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

HEBMAS

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Hebe pauciramosa var. masoniae L.B.Moore, Hebe masoniae (L.B.Moore) Garn.-Jones, Leonohebe masoniae (L.B.Moore) Heads var. masoniae, Leonohebe masoniae var. rotundata Heads,

Distribution

Mountains of western Nelson, South Island, from near Boulder Lake in the north to the Braeburn Range in the south.

Habitat

It grows in Chionochloa australis grassland, tussock grassland, or scrub, sometimes in wet sites.

Features

Spreading low or bushy shrub to 0.5 m tall. Branches decumbent or ascending or erect, old stems brown; branchlets green or red-brown, pubescent (hairs multicellular, more or less appressed, usually upward-facing), hairs bifarious; internodes (1-) 2-4 (-5) mm; leaf decurrencies extended for length of internode and often more or less swollen; leaves usually abscising above nodes with a small portion of lower part of petioles remaining attached to stem. Leaf bud tightly surrounded by recently diverged leaves; sinus broad and shield-shaped. Leaves appressed to patent; lamina oblong (often broadly) or elliptic or sub-circular, rigid, concave, (3-) 6-9 (-10) x 4-8 mm; apex obtuse; base truncate (often abruptly); midrib evident in fresh leaves (below), forming a thickened keel throughout the length of leaf; margin glabrous or ciliolate (with very short, stiff hairs) or ciliate; upper surface dark green, glossy, with many stomata, glabrous; lower surface dark green, glossy; petiole 1-1.5 (-2) mm, glabrous. Inflorescences with 2-10 (-14) flowers, terminal, unbranched, 0.8-1.8 cm; rachis glabrous or hairy (but not evident without removal of flowers and bracts). Bracts opposite and decussate, connate, large and almost obscuring calyx, elliptic or sub-circular. obtuse (usually) or subacute, margins hairy (cilia usually longer than those of V. pauciramosa). Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels absent. Calyx 5.5-7 mm; lobes lanceolate to elliptic, obtuse or subacute, usually eglandular ciliate or very rarely with mixed glandular and eglandular cilia. Corolla tube hairy inside, 4.5-6 x approximately 1.5-2 mm, cylindric to funnelform, approximately equalling calyx; lobes white (usually) or tinged mauve at anthesis, ovate (often broadly) or elliptic, obtuse (posterior sometimes emarginate), suberect to recurved, longer to shorter than corolla tube, sometimes sparsely hairy inside. Stamen filaments 3-4.2 mm; anthers magenta, 1.8-2.6 mm. Ovary 1-1.4 mm, apex (in septum view) truncate or emarginate; ovules 8-14 per locule; style 7-9 mm. Capsules obtuse or subacute, 4-5 x c. 4 mm, loculicidal split extending ¼-1/3-way to base. Seeds strongly flattened, broad ellipsoid or obovoid, weakly winged, pale brown, 1.5-2.1 x 1-1.4 mm, micropylar rim 0.3-0.5 mm.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from similar species of "Buxifoliatae" (see Bayly & Kellow 2006) by the combination of: large ciliolate bracts that largely obscure the calyx; strictly terminal inflorescences; stomata on the upper leaf surface; leaves that are sharply keeled beneath (along the midrib) throughout their length; leaf buds that are closely surrounded by several imbricate leaf pairs; free anterior calyx lobes; and corolla lobes that are almost as broad as they are long.

Flowering

(October-) December-February (-April)

Flower Colours

White

Fruiting

January-May (-November)

Chromosome No.

2n = 118

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 23 Nov 2019