Veronica baylyi
Common names
Red Hills hebe
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing bushy shrub with erect branches bearing pairs of thick dished blue-green oval leaves inhabiting utramafic areas of the northern South Island. Leaves 6.2-12.3mm long by 4.4-7.4mm wide. Leaf bud with small pointed gap between leaves at base. Flowers white, in a spike to 3cm long.
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Spreading low or bushy shrub to 0.6 m tall. Branches erect, old stems dark grey, brown or black; branchlets brown or red-brown, pubescent. Leaf bud distinct; sinus small and acute. Leaves erect to patent; lamina elliptic or obovate, coriaceous, concave, 6.2-12.3 × 4.4-9.1 mm; apex obtuse or subacute; base cuneate or truncate; midrib thickened below (sometimes weakly), sometimes evident on the undersides of fresh leaves; margin minutely papillate; upper surface light to dark olive-green, glaucous or glaucescent, dull with many stomata, glabrous; lower surface olive-green, glaucous or glaucescent; petiole 1.0-1.5 mm, glabrous, rarely hairy along margins especially near base. Inflorescences with 6-22 flowers, usually lateral, rarely terminal, unbranched 12-30 mm long; peduncle 6-9 mm; rachis 13-25 mm. Bracts alternate or opposite, ovate or lanceolate, obtuse, subacute or acuminate. Flowers hermaphrodite or female on different plants. Pedicels absent or always shorter than bracts, 0-0.8 mm. Calyx 1.8-2.5 mm, 4-5-lobed, lobes elliptic, obtuse. Corolla tube glabrous; 1.2-1.7 × 1.9-2.1 mm, shortly cylindric, = or > calyx; lobes whites, elliptic, narrowly elliptic, or ovate, obtuse, patent or recurved, > corolla tube. Stamen filaments 1.7-5.2 mm; anthers magenta, 1.7-1.8 mm. Ovary narrowly ovoid, sometimes sparsely hairy toward apex, c.1.2-1.3 mm; styles 5.0-5.7 mm. Capsules obtuse or subacute, 3.0-4.5 × 2.6-3.0 mm, glabrous or minutely hairy, loculicidal split extending ¼-¾ way to base.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from other New Zealand Veronica (subgenus Hebe) species by the restriction to ultramafic rock habitats, glaucous to glaucescent leaves (on both surfaces); an acute leaf bud sinus; simple rather than branched inflorescences; and inflorescence bracts which do not overtop the calyces.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Mt Dun and Red Hills).
Habitat
Montane to alpine in sparse Chionochloa defracta Connor dominated grassland, ultramafic boulder field and talus slopes, and under short, sparse scrub.
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
Threats
A Naturally Uncommon, range-restricted endemic which is sparse to locally abundant within its ultramafic habitat. There are no known threats to the species, although wilding pines pose a long term risk to the Red Hills vegetation as a whole.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Plantaginaceae
Synonyms
Veronica laevis var. carnosula Hook.f., Veronica carnosula (Hook.f.) Hook.f.; Hebe carnosula (Hook.f) Cockayne,
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November - April
Fruiting
January - April
Life cycle
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Results varying in cultivation, some people finding it easy to grow and others difficult. Can be difficult to strike from cuttings.
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’.
baylyi: Name for Michael Bayly (1970-) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia who undertook his post doctorate in New Zealand revising what was then considered to be plants in the genus Hebe (Bayly & Kellow 2006).
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.
VERBAY
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Bayly, M.; Kellow, A. 2006: An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Te Papa Press, 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.
Attribution
Fact Sheet by Peter J. de Lange (4 August 2006). Description modified from Bayly and Kellow (2006).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica baylyi Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-baylyi/ (Date website was queried)