The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica baylyi

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'.
baylyi: Name for Michael Bayly (1970-) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia who undertook his post doctorate in New Zealand revising what was then considered to be plants in the genus Hebe (Bayly & Kellow 2006).

Common Name(s)

Red Hills 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 baylyi Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Low growing bushy shrub with erect branches bearing pairs of thick dished blue-green oval leaves inhabiting utramafic areas of the northern South Island. Leaves 6.2-12.3mm long by 4.4-7.4mm wide. Leaf bud with small pointed gap between leaves at base. Flowers white, in a spike to 3cm long.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

HEBCAR

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Veronica laevis var. carnosula Hook.f., Veronica carnosula (Hook.f.) Hook.f.; Hebe carnosula (Hook.f) Cockayne,

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Mt Dun and Red Hills)

Habitat

Montane to alpine in sparse Chionochloa defracta Connor dominated grassland, ultramafic boulder field and talus slopes, and under short, sparse scrub.

Features

Spreading low or bushy shrub to 0.6 m tall. Branches erect, old stems dark grey, brown or black; branchlets brown or red-brown, pubescent. Leaf bud distinct; sinus small and acute. Leaves erect to patent; lamina elliptic or obovate, coriaceous, concave, 6.2-12.3 × 4.4-9.1 mm; apex obtuse or subacute; base cuneate or truncate; midrib thickened below (sometimes weakly), sometimes evident on the undersides of fresh leaves; margin minutely papillate; upper surface light to dark olive-green, glaucous or glaucescent, dull with many stomata, glabrous; lower surface olive-green, glaucous or glaucescent; petiole 1.0-1.5 mm, glabrous, rarely hairy along margins especially near base. Inflorescences with 6-22 flowers, usually lateral, rarely terminal, unbranched 12-30 mm long; peduncle 6-9 mm; rachis 13-25 mm. Bracts alternate or opposite, ovate or lanceolate, obtuse, subacute or acuminate. Flowers hermaphrodite or female on different plants. Pedicels absent or always shorter than bracts, 0-0.8 mm. Calyx 1.8-2.5 mm, 4-5-lobed, lobes elliptic, obtuse. Corolla tube glabrous; 1.2-1.7 × 1.9-2.1 mm, shortly cylindric, = or > calyx; lobes whites, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or ovate, obtuse, patent or recurved, > corolla tube. Stamen filaments 1.7-5.2 mm; anthers magenta, 1.7-1.8 mm. Ovary narrowly ovoid, sometimes sparsely hairy toward apex, c.1.2-1.3 mm; styles 5.0-5.7 mm. Capsules obtuse or subacute, 3.0-4.5 × 2.6-3.0 mm, glabrous or minutely hairy, loculicidal split extending ¼-¾ way to base.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from other New Zealand Veronica (subgenus Hebe) species by the restriction to ultramafic rock habitats, glaucous to glaucescent leaves (on both surfaces); an acute leaf bud sinus; simple rather than branched inflorescences; and inflorescence bracts which do not ove top the calyces

Flowering

November - April

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Results varying in cultivation, some people finding it easy to grow and others difficult. Can be difficult to strike from cuttings.

Threats

A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is sparse to locally abundant within its ultramafic habitat. There are no known threats to the species although wilding pines pose a long term risk to the Red Hills vegetation as a whole.

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 6 Mar 2016