Veronica benthamii
Common names
Bentham’s hebe
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low-growing bright green bushy fleshy shrub bearing pairs of oval leaves and small purple flowers. Leaves with a furry silvery margin, slightly notched. Flowers in a leafy spike to 10 cm long.
Flower colours
Blue, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Bushy or spreading shrub up to 1 × 1 m. branches decumbent or ascending; branchlets pubescent or glabrous, if hairy then hairs white, bifarious or occasionally uniform; internodes 1.0–13.0–15.6 mm; leaves abscising at nodes. Leaf bud obscured by surrounding leaves, leaves usually overtopping bud. Leaves connate, erecto-patent to reflexed; lamina elliptic or obovate, coriaceous, flat, 10.0–33.0 × 3.5–14.5 mm; apex obtuse or truncate; midrib thickened below and depressed above; margin conspicuously puberulent, shallowly to deeply toothed; upper surface green, glabrous to hairy along midrib or hairy toward base. Inflorescences 11–30-flowered, mostly terminal, unbranched or with 3 or more branches (up to 4 lateral branches but never compound branching); peduncle 8–19 mm; rachis 16–93 mm. Bracts opposite and decussate, mostly free rarely connate, usually obovate sometimes elliptic, apex surmounted with a prominent gland, obtuse or subacute, occasionally emarginate. Flowers blue on pedicels 1–4 mm long, these hairy or glabrous. Calyx 3.0–8.5 mm, 4–6-lobed; lobes oblong or obovate, obtuse or subacute with a prominent apical gland, eglandular ciliate (hairs white, long and tangled), glabrous externally, hairy inside. Corolla tube 2.0–3.2 × 3.5–3.9 mm, cylindric, somewhat dorso-ventrally compressed, glabrous, < calyx; lobes 4–6, sky-blue or violet at anthesis, darkening to blue with age, obovate to circular, obtuse (posterior occasionally emarginate), erect to patent, > corolla tube; corolla throat blue or white. Stamen filaments blue, erect, 1.0–1.5 mm; anthers blue, 1.2–1.6 mm. Ovary 1.8–2.3 mm, 2–3-locular; style 2.1–3.2 mm. Capsules latiseptate (2-locular) or turgid (3-locular), subacute, 4.5–6.0 mm, hairy, septicidal splits sometimes extending only ¾-way to base, loculicidal split extending ¼–¾-way to base (usually < ½-way). Seeds 1.2–1.9 × 1.3–1.6 mm, straw-yellow or dark brown, strongly flattened, broad ellipsoid to discoid, winged.
Similar taxa
Easily distinguished from all other New Zealand Veronica species by the leaves which are densely fringed by white hairs, often toothed; by the terminal inflorescence leaf-like bracts, blue flowers bearing 4–6 calyx and corolla lobes, and 2–3-locular ovaries and fruits.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: Auckland Islands and Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku.
Habitat
Coastal to montane. Usually on peat amongst Chionochloa antarctica tussocks and shield fern (Polystichum vestitium). Sometimes grows around boulder and rock outcrops.
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 abundant within its known habitats which are part of Nature Reserves and World Heritage Sites whose access requires permits issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. There are no known threats to this species.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Plantaginaceae
Synonyms
Hebe benthamii (Hook.f.) Cockayne et Allan, Leonohebe benthamii (Hook.f.) Heads
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October–May
Fruiting
November–October
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild
Other information
Where To Buy
Not Commercially Available.
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’.
benthamii: Named in honour of George Bentham (1800 - 1884), considered the most prolific botanist of the nineteenth century.
Chromosome number
2n = 40
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
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.
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 by P.J. de Lange (15 August 2005): Description modified from Bayly and Kellow (2006)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica benthamii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-benthamii/ (Date website was queried)