The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica calcicola

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'.

Common Name(s)

Marble Hebe

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 - RR

Authority

Veronica calcicola (Bayly et Garn.-Jones) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Low growing bushy shrub bearing pairs of narrow dark green leaves inhabiting marble rocks in Northwest Nelson. Leaves to 45mm long by 9mm wide, margin with very small hairs (lens needed). Leaf bud without gap at base. Flowers white in a spike to 9cm long.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Hebe calcicola Bayly et Garn.-Jones

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (north-west Nelson (Peel, Lockett, Douglas, and Arthur ranges))

Habitat

Montane to subalpine. Confined to limestone and marble outcrops, talus and bluffs where it grows in low scrub of which it is often the dominant species.

Features

Shrub, to c.1.4 m tall. Branches erect; old stems mottled grey, or brown; youngest branchlets brown, or red-brown, or green; internodes 1.5-15 mm long; stem pubescence bifarious or uniform. Leaf bud without sinus. Leaves erecto-patent to patent or recurved; lamina oblong-elliptic (mostly) or lanceolate 3.5-9 mm wide; apex subacute or obtuse; base cuneate; midrib thickened beneath and depressed to grooved above; margin not thickened, oblanceolate, 13-45 mm long, 3.5-9.0 mm wide; apex subacute or obtuse; base cuneate; midrib thickened beneath and depressed to grooved above; margin not thickened, light green or yellowish green, bevelled, glabrous or ciliolate (especially toward apex), entire; upper surface dark green, glossy; lower surface green, dull, glabrous or sometimes minutely covered with glandular hairs). Inflorescences with 25-45 flowers, lateral, racemose and unbranched, 25-85 mm long, longer than subtending leaves, flowers usually opening in acropetal sequence, usually with all flowers developing to maturity; peduncle 4-20 mm long, pubescent with mixed long eglandular/short glandular hairs; rachis 22-56 mm long, pubescent with mixed eglandular/glandular hairs; bracts alternate, obtuse to acute, ciliate with both glandular and eglandular hairs, deltoid or ovate; pedicels varying from longer than bracts to shorter than pubescent mixed eglandular/glandular hairs, erecto-patent at anthesis, erecto-patent or patent at fruiting, 0.5-.0 mm long. Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx terete, c.1.5-2.5 mm long, mostly 4-lobed; lobes oblong or lanceolate, obtuse or more rarely subacute, with mixed glandular/eglandular cilia. Corolla white; tube hairy inside, c.0.7-1.2 mm long, shortly funnelform, shorter than calyx; lobes longer than corolla tube, papillate inside sometimes basally hairy (or hairs more widespread) on inner surface, margins of corolla lobes glabrous; posterior lobe broadly elliptic or ovate or obovate, obtuse, erect to slightly recurved, with margin and apex turned upwards; lateral lobes elliptic, obtuse, suberect or patent, with margin and apex turned upwards; anterior lobe elliptic, oblong-elliptic, obtuse, suberect, patent or recurved, with margin and apex turned upwards, not enfolding style; corolla throat white. Stamen filaments white, 3-5 mm long; anthers obtuse, magenta, 1-2 mm long. Ovary ovoid, mostly eglandular hairy, c.0.8-1.1 mm long, 2-locular; style 3.5-5.0 mm long, glabrous, white; stigma yellow. Capsules 2.0-3.5 × 2.5-3.0 mm thick, septicidal split extending to base, loculicidal split extending 1/3-¾-way to base.

Similar Taxa

Most closely allied to Veronica rakaiensis from which it differs by its geographic isolation,; by the mature leaves mostly > 20 mm long, oblong-elliptic; and by the glabrous margins of corolla lobes

Flowering

November - March

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

December - May

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from semi-hardwood cuttings and fresh seed. An attractive low bushy plant that responds well to regularly pruning and trimming to keep in shape. It does well in a sunny or semi-shaded site in most soils.

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted and sparsely distributed endemic of calcareous substrates, All known populations are within a National Park and believed to be secure.

Chromosome No.

2n = 80

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 4 Apr 2016