The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica pubescens subsp. rehuarum

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)

Great Barrier Koromiko, Great Barrier 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 - IE, OL
2009 - IE

Authority

Veronica pubescens subsp. rehuarum (Bayly et de Lange) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Bushy shrub bearing pairs of narrow leaves inhabiting open sites on Great Barrier Island. Twigs hairy. Leaves to 65mm long by 19mm wide, widest towards base. Leaf buds with barely visible gap between leaves at base. Flowers white to pinkish, with hairy teeth clasping the base (lens needed).

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Hebe pubescens subsp. rehuarum Bayly et de Lange

Distribution

Endemic. New Zealand: Great Barrier Island.

Habitat

Common in open, seral, coastal habitats but also inland on rock tors, cliff faces, and rubble-strewn ground.

Features

Shrub to 1.5 m tall. Branches erect or spreading; old stems brown to red-brown; youngest branchlets green to red; internodes 1–39 mm long; stems minutely and uniformly puberulent or glabrous, hairs when present eglandular. Leaf bud about as long as mature leaves; sinus usually present glabrous or minutely puberulent, small and rounded. Leaves decussate, erecto-patent to recurved; lamina lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or linear-lanceolate, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, more or less flat, 25–65 × 7–19 mm; apex subacute or acute or obtuse; base truncate or cuneate; midrib thickened beneath and depressed to grooved above; margin narrowly cartilaginous, bevelled to rounded, (usually with at least some hairs toward base) or glabrous, entire; upper surface dark to yellowish green, dull to somewhat glossy, underside of lamina glabrous,; underside of midrib glabrous or hairy, hairs when present being < 0.2 mm long; midrib pubescent to puberulent (at least toward base); hairs minute, glandular; lower surface green or light green, dull. Petiole 0.5–4.0 mm long. Inflorescences with 20–190 flowers, lateral, racemose and unbranched, 55–100 mm long, longer than (mostly) or about equal to subtending leaves; peduncle 3–28 mm long, eglandular pubescent; rachis 17–175 mm long, eglandular-pubescent; bracts alternate, acute or subacute, ciliate, narrowly deltoid or lanceolate; pedicels ›, = to or ‹ bracts, eglandular-pubescent, erecto-patent or patent to slightly recurved at anthesis, erecto-patent, ascending or recurved at fruiting. Flowers on individual plants hermaphrodite or female. Calyx 1.7–4.0 mm long, 4-lobed, equally divided; lobes all similar, deltoid or lanceolate, acute, acuminate or subacute, outer surface glabrous, occasionally minutely hairy, margins sometimes tinged pink. Corolla lobes mauve at anthesis and white after pollination, glabrous, corolla tube always white, glabrous or nearly so, 2.7–3.9 ×, 1.3–1.9 mm, narrowly funnelform to shortly cylindric and contracted at base, equalling or longer than calyx; usually hairy inside and sometimes hairy outside; posterior lobe lanceolate or elliptic, subacute or obtuse, suberect to patent; lateral lobes lanceolate or elliptic, subacute or obtuse, suberect; anterior lobe lanceolate, subacute to obtuse, suberect. Stamen filaments white, 4.5–6 mm long; anthers subacute to conspicuously apiculate, mauve or purple, 1.1–1.5 mm long. Nectarial disc glabrous. Ovary ovoid, 0.9–1.1 mm long, glabrous or sparsely so (especially alogn septal grooves); style 3.5–10.5 mm long, white or mauve; stigma no wider than style, yellow, green, mauve, red at anthesis. Capsules obtuse or subacute, dark brown, 2.5–5.0 × 2.0–3.4 mm, septicidal split extending to base, loculicidal split extending ¼– ½ way to base.

Similar Taxa

Distinguished from Veronica pubescens subsp. pubescens by the usually glabrous, mostly lanceolate or linear-lanceolate leaves, and restriction to Great Barrier Island.

Flowering

August - July

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

October - June

Propagation Technique

Easy from semi-hardwood cuttings and fresh seed. Does best in free draining soil in an open sunny site

Threats

Abundant within its known habitats.

Chromosome No.

2n = 40

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 6 Mar 2016