The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Veronica pubescens subsp. sejuncta

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)

Mokohinau Koromiko, 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 pubescens subsp. sejuncta (Bayly et de Lange) Garn.-Jones

Family

Plantaginaceae

Brief Description

Bushy shrub bearing pairs of narrow leaves inhabiting open sites on outer Hauraki Gulf islands. Twigs hairy. Leaves to 125mm long by 31mm wide, widest towards tip, hairy on ridge along underside (lens needed). Leaf buds with barely visible gap between leaves at base. Flowers cupped by hairy base.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Hebe pubescens subsp. sejuncta Bayly et de Lange

Distribution

Endemic. Mokohinau, Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands only

Habitat

Open coastal forest, shrubland and petrel scrub on offshore islands. Often a pioneer on recently cleared or disturbed ground.

Features

Shrub to 2 m tall, usually heavily branched. Branches erect or spreading; old stems brown to red-brown; youngest branchlets green to red; internodes 1–39 mm long; stems uniformly and minutely puberulent, or glabrous. Leaf bud about as long as mature leaves; sinus rounded to subacute, usually conspicuous, but sometimes (on Mokohinau Islands) very small or absent. Leaves obovate or oblanceolate, subcoriaceous to very robust and coriaceous, more or less flat, 30–125 × 7–31 mm; apex subacute, acute or obtuse; base truncate or cuneate; midrib thickened beneath, glabrous or hairy (hairs < 0.2 mm long) and depressed to grooved above; margin pubescent to sparsely ciliate or nearly glabrous, entire; upper lamina surface dark to very dark green, glossy, glabrous; lower surface green or light green, dull. Petiole 0.5–4.0 mm long. Inflorescences with 20–190 flowers, lateral, racemose and unbranched, 55–145 mm long; peduncle 3–28 mm long, eglandular pubescent; rachis 17–175 mm long, eglandular-pubescent; bracts alternate, narrowly deltoid or lanceolate, acute or subacute; pedicels ›, = to or ‹ bracts, eglandular-pubescent, erecto-patent, patent or slightly recurved at anthesis, erecto-patent, ascending or recurved at fruiting. Flowers hermaphrodite or female. Calyx 1.7–4.0 mm long, 4-lobed, equally divided; lobes deltoid or lanceolate, acute, acuminate or subacute, glabrous or hairy (always glabrous on Mokohinau Islands), if hairy then hairs mixed glandular/eglandular ciliate outside, occasionally inside, margins sometimes tinged pink. Corolla lobes faint mauve to vivid purple-mauve when young, usually fading to white after anthesis, lanceolate or elliptic, subacute or obtuse, suberect to patent, corolla tube white, outer surface glabrous or hairy (glabrous on Mokohinau Islands); tube hairy inside and often outside, 2.5–5.5 × 1.3–1.9 mm, narrowly funnelform to shortly cylindric, = to › calyx; usually hairy inside, sometimes outside. Stamen filaments white, 4.5–6.0 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, sparsely hairy (especially along septal grooves); style 3.5–10.5 mm long, white or mauve; stigma no wider than style, yellow, green, mauve or 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 mostly obovate or oblanceolate usually glabrous leaves, which are hairy only along the midrib of the leaf underside with the hairs < 0.2 mm long

Flowering

August - November then again in May - July

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

October - April

Propagation Technique

Easily grown from cuttings and fresh seed. Prefers full sun. Surprisingly drought and cold tolerant.

Threats

Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic, abundant on Little Barrier and the Mokohinau Islands, scarce on Great Barrier Island (this may be natural). There are no known threats.

Chromosome No.

2n = 40

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 6 Mar 2016