Veronica barkeri
Common names
Barker’s koromiko, Chatham Island tree hebe
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Bushy small tree bearing narrow pairs of leaves with a finely hairy margin (lens needed) inhabiting the Chatham Islands. Leaves taper towards tip, to 79 mm long by 22 mm wide. Leaf bud without gap. Flowers whiteish, in a spike to 8 cm long.
Flower colours
Lavender, White
Detailed description
Tree up to 13 m tall producing a dense, rounded to conical, canopy when mature. Branches erect, old stems brown, branchlets green, red-brown or purple, pubescent, hairs uniform; internodes 3–30 mm. Leaf bud pubescent (rarely glabrous) sinus absent. Leaves erecto-patent to patent; lamina 24–90 × 4–30 mm, linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, subcoriaceous, flat to weakly concave, apex acute; margin narrowly cartilaginous, minutely pubescent (hairs eglandular), upper surface yellow-green to light green, midrib distinctly hairy, hairs glandular or rarely eglandular, lower surface paler than upper, conspicuously (or faintly) pitted, each pit containing a single twin-headed glandular hair, midrib hairy, sometimes the rest of the underside also uniformly eglandular pubescent or glabrous. Inflorescence racemose, lateral and unbranched, 20–50-flowered, 28–80 mm long, mostly equal to subtending leaves rarely shorter or longer; peduncle 6–15 mm; rachis 22–68 mm. Bracts alternate, deltoid, oblong, obtuse to acute. Flowers hermaphrodite or gynodioecious. Pedicels 1.0–6.0 mm long, always longer than bracts. Calyx 1.5–4.2 mm long; lobes deltoid, lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, acute to obtuse, externally hairy. Corolla tube 1.4–2.0 × 1.6–1.9 mm, broadly funnelform, shorter than calyx; lobes longer than corolla tube, white tinged with pale blue or mauve, or distally or completely dark blue or pink at anthesis, white or pale blue with age, elliptic, lanceolate, rhomboid or ovate, obtuse, cucullate, suberect to recurved. Stamen filaments 4–5 mm long, white, mauve or blue, straight or incurved at apex in bud; anthers 1.5–2.0 mm long, purple. Ovary 1.1–1.3 mm long, ovoid, hairy; style 2.5–4.5 mm long, hairy. Capsules 4.0–5.0 × 2.8–3.3 mm, hairy, loculicidal split extending ⅓–¾-way to base. Seeds 1.1–2.0 × 1.0–1.4 mm, strongly flattened, ellipsoid-oblong to broadly ellipsoid, winged, pale to dark brown.
Similar taxa
Could be confused with the Chatham Island endemic Veronica dieffenbachii from which it can be distinguished by the tree habit and upright branches. The leaf buds, mid rib and margin are minutely puberulent. The mature leaves are also broadest at their midpoint. The corolla tube also differs from V. dieffenbachii in that it does not exceed the calyx, and is shorter than the corolla lobes.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Chatham Islands (Rēkohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Island, Rangihaute / Rangiauria / Pitt Island, Hokorereoro / Rangatira / South East Island.
Habitat
Forest and scrub, especially on coastal scarps, forested streamsides and the banks of incised streams. Often epiphytic on tree fern trunks.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, IE, RF
Threats
Extinct in the northern two thirds of the main Chatham Island (though it has been planted at several reserve within that area). Browsing animals (especially cattle, sheep, possums and pigs) pose the greatest threat. Fire and clearance for farming are other threats. Young plants on the ground are highly vulnerable to being browsed. Stem borers can limit fruit production in some seasons. There is some evidence to suggest that isolated trees set lower levels of viable seed. This needs further research.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Plantaginaceae
Synonyms
Hebe barkeri (Cockyane) Cockayne, Hebe gigantea (Cockayne) Cockayne (Veronica gigantea Cockayne) might also belong here but the type material is inadequate to allow confident identification.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December–March
Fruiting
January–April
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed. Can be hard to strike from cuttings and difficult to maintain in humid climates.
Other information
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’.
barkeri: Named in honour of Samuel D. Barker (1948-1901)
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.
VERBAR
Chromosome number
2n = 40
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, IE, RF
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, IE, RF
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: CD, IE
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Bayly MJ, Kellow AV. 2006. An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Te Papa Press, Wellington, NZ. 388 p.
de Lange PJ, Heenan PB, Norton DA, Rolfe JR, Sawyer JWD. 2010. Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. 471 p.
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 November 2009). Description based on Bayly & Kellow (2006) but see also de Lange et (2010)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica barkeri Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-barkeri/ (Date website was queried)