Veronica albicans
Common name
hebe
Synonyms
Hebe albicans (Petrie) Cockayne, Hebe recurva G.Simpson et J.S.Thomson
Family
Plantaginaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
HEBALB
Chromosome number
2n = 40 or 80.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Low bushy shrub with blue-green oval to long narrow pointed pairs of leaves and short spikes of white flowers inhabiting Northwestern Nelson. Twigs finely hairy. Leaves vary, to 42mm long and 16mm wide. Leaf bud with no gap at base. Flower spikes to 5cm long, on distinct stalk.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island - Nelson, from Mt Burnett in the north to the Glasgow Range in the south, and as far east as the Bryant Range
Habitat
It grows in a range of habitats, usually on rocks (often calcareous), from just above sea-level (e.g. on the banks of the Aorere River) to subalpine and penalpine situations.
Features
Openly branched, spreading low or small bushy shrub to 1 m. tall. Branches decumbent or pendent or erect, old stems brown; branchlets green to red-brown, pubescent, hairs bifarious (sometimes restricted to tufts at nodes) or uniform; internodes (1.9-) 2.5-9 (-15.5) mm; leaf decurrencies evident or obscure. Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent. Leaves erecto-patent to recurved; lamina oblong or elliptic or ovate or lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, fleshy or coriaceous or subcoriaceous or thin, flat or concave, 11- 42 x 3.4-16.3 mm; apex obtuse to acute; base prominently amplexicaul to truncate or cuneate; 2 lateral secondary veins evident at base of fresh leaves; midrib slightly thickened below and depressed to grooved above; margin sometimes cartilaginous, glabrous; upper surface glaucous or glaucescent, dull, with many stomata, glabrous or hairy along midrib (near base); lower surface glaucous or glaucescent. Inflorescences with 15-45 flowers, lateral, unbranched, 1.7-5.1 cm, longer than or about equal to subtending leaves; peduncle 0.4-1.4 (-1.7) cm; rachis 0.7-3.9 cm. Bracts alternate, lanceolate or elliptic or ovate, acute or subacute. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels (0.5-) 0.8- 2.5 (-3.5) mm. Calyx 1.5- 3 (-4) mm; lobes lanceolate or elliptic, acute to subacute. Corolla tube hairy inside or glabrous, (2.5-) 3-6 x 1.2-1.8 mm, cylindric, longer than calyx; lobes white at anthesis, ovate or elliptic (sometimes broadly), obtuse, suberect to recurved, shorter than corolla tube. Stamen filaments sometimes incurved at apex in bud, 3-5.5 mm; anthers magenta, 1.5-2.4 mm. Ovary ovoid (sometimes narrowly), rarely sparsely hairy, 0.8-1.2 mm; ovules 7-16 per locule; style 4.5- 9 mm. Capsules subacute or obtuse or slightly emarginate, 2.5-4.5 x 2-3.2 mm, rarely hairy, loculicidal split extending ¼–½-way to base. Seeds flattened (sometimes strongly), ellipsoid to discoid, brown, 1-1.8(-2) x 0.8-1.1 mm, micropylar rim 0.2-0.6 mm.
Flowering
(November) December-March (May)
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
(January) February-August (November)
Life cycle
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
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’.
albicans: From the Latin albicare ‘to whiten’, meaning whitening
Taxonomic notes
An extremely variable species, distinguished from most others by the combination of glaucous leaves, conspicuously pedicellate flowers, short bracts, long corolla tubes, and glabrous ovaries and fruit. It includes plants previously placed in H. recurva (e.g. Moore, in Allan 1961) and H. “glaucophylla NW Nelson” (sensu Druce 1993). The species includes both sprawling, broad-leaved plants of subalpine areas, and erect, narrow-leaved plants of lowlands. H. albicans hybridises with H. calcicola (Bayly et al. 2001), and probably also with H. salicifolia (based on observations in the Cobb Valley).
Attribution
Description adapted by M. Ward from Bayly & Kellow (2006).
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Volume 1.Wellington: Government Printer.
Bayly, M.J., Kellow, A.V. 2006 An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa press pg. 168
Bayly, M. J., Garnock-Jones, P. J., Mitchell, K. A., Markham, K. R. & Brownsey, P. J. 2001: Description of Hebe calcicola (Scrophulariaccae), a new species from north-west Nelson, New Zealand, including details of Ravonoid chemistry. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39: 55-67.
Druce, A. P. 1993: Indigenous vascular plants of New Zealand. 9th revision. Unpublished checklist held at Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand. [Copy also held in the library of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.]
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: Ward, M.D. (Year at time of access): Veronica albicans Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-albicans/ (Date website was queried)