Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata
Common names
Arthur’s Pass parahebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Detailed description
Cushion-forming subshrub, 10-40 mm tall. Stem and branchlets brown. Branches prostrate to ascending. Vegetative internodes 1-12 mm long. Stem pubescence uniform, eglandular pubescent. Leaves erect to erecto-patent or recurved (in distal portion). Lamina elliptic or orbicular, 2-5 × 2–3 mm. Upper surface of leaves dull bronze green or dark green. Under surface of leaves dull bronze green or dark green. Leaf hairs sparse, numerous or absent, unicellular eglandular (hairs 0.3-0.5 mm long on petioles). Apex subacute to obtuse. Base cuneate. Margin minutely papillate or denticulate, crenate or lobed. Marginal teeth or lobes in 2-5 pairs. Petiole 3-6 mm long. Inflorescence 1-2(-3)-flowered, 2-10 mm long at fruiting. Indumentum of peduncle, rachis, and pedicels dense. Peduncle 0-20 mm long, eglandular-pubescent. Rachis 0-20 long, eglandular-pubescent. Bracts paired, opposite, obtuse or subacute, eglandular-hairy above and eglandular-hairy below, spathulate. Bract margins shallowly to deeply lobed. Pedicels patent at anthesis, straight at fruiting, 0-2 mm long, eglandular-pubescent. Flowers: Calyx 4(–5)-lobed, 4–7 mm long, lobes oblanceolate, oblong, spathulate, subacute to obtuse. Calyx hairs on both abaxial and adaxial surfaces, eglandular. Calyx lobe margins shallowly lobed. Corolla white at anthesis. Nectar guides absent. Corolla throat same colour as lobes. Corolla 4-7 mm diameter. Corolla tube 3.5-7.0 × 1.5-2.0 mm, glabrous or shortly hairy outside. Corolla lobes glabrous or pubescent below. Posterior corolla lobe circular, elliptic or deltoid, obtuse, emarginate or divided in two, 2-3 × 2-4 mm. Lateral corolla lobes circular or elliptic, obtuse, flat, not enfolding stamens, 2-4 × 2-4 mm. Anterior corolla lobe elliptic, obtuse, 2.0-3.0 × 1.5-2.5 mm. Stamen filaments white, 1.5-2.0 mm long, not narrowed at base. Anthers pink to magenta, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Nectarial disc glabrous. Ovary ovoid or globose, obtuse, eglandular hairy, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Style 1.5–2.5 mm long. Capsules strongly flattened, emarginate to didymous, 3-4 × 3-4 mm, 2-3 mm thick, hairy. Hairs eglandular. Septicidal split of capsule extending ½-way to base (split to base in old capsules). Loculicidal split of capsule extending ¾ way to base or to base. Seeds ellipsoid to obovoid, pale brown to dark brown, 0.6-1.1 × 0.5-0.7 mm.
Similar taxa
Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata differs from subsp. cheesemanii by the elliptic or orbicular, crenate to shallowly pinnatifid leaves which are lobed ½-way, and by the petiole hairs which are 0.3-0.5 mm long. For other details see under subsp. cheesemanii.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Arthur’s Pass National Park)
Habitat
Alpine. Inhabiting gritty and silt soils within stable screes, also on cliff faces and very rarely growing at the margins of small tarns.
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.
- 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
Range Restricted - known from only a few locations where it can be at times locally common. However, the total area it occupies is very small. There are no known threats.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Parahebe cheesemanii subsp. flabellata Garn.-Jones
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - January
Fruiting
January - April
Propagation technique
Difficult. Best grown in a rock garden or alpine house in a sunny position with a cool root run.
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’.
cheesemanii: Named after Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (1846 - 15 October 1923) who was a New Zealand botanist and naturalist who, in 1906, produced The Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
flabellata: Fan shaped; from the Latin flabellum; shape of the leaves
Previous conservation statuses
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.
- 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.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Garnock-Jones, P.J.; Lloyd, D.G. 2003: A taxonomic revision of Parahebe (Plantaginaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42: 181-232.
Attribution
Fact Sheet by P.J. de Lange (5 October 2006). Description adapted from Garnock-Jones and Lloyd (2003).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica cheesemanii subsp. flabellata Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-cheesemanii-subsp-flabellata/ (Date website was queried)