The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica insularis

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'.
insularis: From the Latin insula 'island, pertaining to or growing on islands

Common Name(s)

Three Kings koromiko

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 - IE, RR
2009 - IE

Authority

Veronica insularis (Cheeseman) Cockayne et Allan

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Low growing shrub bearing pairs of oval leathery blueish leaves inhabiting the Three Kings Islands. Leaves to 33mm long by 14mm wide. Leaf bud sometimes with tiny gap between leaf pairs at base. Flowers white to purple, in branched sprays to 4cm long at the tips of twigs.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Hebe insularis (Cheeseman) Cockayne et Allan

Distribution

Endemic to the Three Kings Islands, northern New Zealand, where it is known from West, South West, Great and North East islands.

Habitat

It grows on rock outcrops and cliffs, especially near the coast.

Features

Spreading low shrub to 0.5(-1) m tall. Branches decumbent or erect or sometimes pendent, old stems brown; branchlets red-brown, densely pubescent, hairs uniform to bifarious; internodes (1-)4-10.5 mm; leaf decurrencies evident (usually with± faint ridges running along medial line and margins, with a shallow groove forming between the decurrencies of a leaf pair). Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent, or small and rounded to narrow and acute. Leaves erectopatent to patent (usually) or recurved; lamina elliptic (usually) or slightly obovate, coriaceous or fleshy, flat or slightly concave, 7.5-32.5 x 3.7-13.5 mm; apex subacute or obtuse; margin ciliolate or glabrous; upper surface green to dark green and often slightly glaucous or glaucescent, dull, with many stomata, glabrous (usually) or hairy along midrib; lower surface green, glabrous (usually) or hairy along midrib; petiole glabrous (usually) or hairy along margins or above. Inflorescences with 7-46 flowers, lateral, with 3 or more branches, 2.2-4 cm, longer than (usually) or about equal to subtending leaves (rarely); peduncle 0.7-1.7 cm; rachis 1.2-2.8 cm. Bracts opposite and decussate below and becoming alternate above, deltoid (sometimes narrowly) or ovate or lanceolate, obtuse to acute. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels 0.5-5.5 mm. Calyx 2- 4 mm, with anterior lobes free for most of their length (mostly) or united 1/3-2/3-way to apex (degree of fusion of anterior lobes varies on one inflorescence); lobes lanceolate or ovate, obtuse to acute, eglandular ciliate (almost always) or with mixed eglandular and occasional glandular cilia. Corolla tube glabrous, 2.9-4 x 2.2-3 mm, funnelform and contracted at base, longer than calyx; lobes white or tinged mauve at anthesis (often almost purple when young), broadly ovate, obtuse, suberect to recurved, longer than or equalling corolla tube. Stamen filaments 4.8 - 6.5 mm; anthers magenta, 1.8- 2.2 mm. Ovary approximately 0.9-1.1 mm; ovules 12-29 per locule, marginal on a flattened placenta (but usually recurved and appearing somewhat scattered), in 1- 3 layers; style 3.5-7.2 mm. Capsules subacute or obtuse, 2.5- 4.5 x 2-3 mm, septicidal split sometimes extending only ¾-way to base, loculicidal split extending ¼-½-way to base. Seeds flattened, ± ellipsoid, finely papillate, pale brown, 1- 1.2 x 0.6-0.8 mm, MR 0.2-0.3 mm.

Flowering

November-December(-February)

Flower Colours

Blue,White

Fruiting

December-March(-August)

Chromosome No.

2n = 40 (+fragment)

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 13 Nov 2019