Veronica corriganii
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Erect bushy shrub bearing pairs of long narrow leathery leaves and white flowers with a tube much longer than the small green basal cup inhabiting mainly upland areas of central North Island. Leaves to 145mm long by 20mm wide. Leaf bud with small round gap between leaves at base.
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Openly branched, small to large bushy shrub to 2.5 m tall. Branches erect, old stems grey or brown or black (at least on herbarium specimens); branchlets green (sometimes tinged maroon) to brown, glabrous or minutely puberulent, hairs bifarious or rarely uniform; internodes (5-) 12-22 (-36) mm; leaf decurrencies usually somewhat evident (often with a slight ridge along medial line that can give branchlets an angular or flattened appearance). Leaf bud distinct; sinus small and rounded or square to oblong. Leaves erecto-patent or patent; lamina linear-lanceolate, coriaceous, slightly m-shaped in transverse section, 70-105 (-145) x (7.2-) 8-16 (-19.3) mm; apex acute or subacute; brochidodromous secondary veins sometimes evident in fresh leaves> margin puberulent to ciliolate (sometimes sparsely), entire or distantly denticulate; upper surface dark green, glossy or dull. without evident stomata, hairy along midrib; lower surface green or light green; petiole 2.5-3.2 mm, hairy along margins and above. Inflorescences with 100-120 flowers, lateral, unbranched, 8-14.5 cm; peduncle 1.6-2.7 cm; rachis 6.6-12.1 cm. Bracts alternate, lanceolate, subacute or acute, sometimes sparsely hairy outside. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels 1.4-4 mm. Calyx 2.5-4 mm; lobes deltoid or ovate or oblong, acuminate to obtuse, glabrous outside (but often hairy inside), Corolla tube hairy inside, 3.5-5 x 1.9-2.4 mm, slightly expanded in lower half, longer than calyx; lobes white or tinged mauve at anthesis, ovate or elliptic, obtuse, suberect to patent, shorter than corolla tube, sometimes with a few hairs toward base on inner surface and sometimes ciliate (near base), Stamen filaments 4.5-5 mm; anthers pale mauve, (1.5-) 1.9-2.3 mm. Ovary 0.8-1.1 mm; ovules approximately 10-13 per locule; style (4.5-) 6-9 mm. Capsules subacute, (3.6-) 4.7-6 (-7) x (2.3-) 3-4 mm, loculicidal split extending ¼-way to base. Seeds strongly flattened, broad ellipsoid to discoid, not winged to only weakly winged, more or less smooth, pale brown, 1.3-2.2 x 1.1-1.7 mm, micropylar rim 0.4-0.6 mm.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from other North Island species by the combination of: an obvious leaf bud sinus; coriaceous, linear-lanceolate leaves; and corolla tubes longer than calyces and corolla lobes. The species has similar leaves and fruit to V. macrocarpa. The two are probably closely related and may intergrade. They differ primarily in the presence/absence of a leaf bud sinus, and plants with both conditions co-occur in some localities near the geographic boundary between them.
Distribution
Endemic to North Island - From the Hunua Ranges in the north to the North-West Ruahine Range in the south, and between the Raukumara Range in the east and the Pouakai Range (Taranaki) in the west.
Habitat
Grows in a range of situations from near-coastal lowland scrub to montane or subalpine forests.
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 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Hebe corriganii Carse
Taxonomic notes
V. macrocarpa and V. corriganii are retained here as distinct species (cf. Druce 1993; Clarkson et al. 2002), primarily because They differ consistently in the sinus character over broad geographic areas. Revision or this classification might be appropriate if further studies more firmly establish a close relationship and/or substantial introgression between them.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(July-) August - March
Fruiting
April (-June)
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
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’.
corriganii: Honours Mr D.H.L. Corrigan, who discovered the species.
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.
VERCOR
Chromosome number
2n = 80
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 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Bayly, M.J., Kellow, A.V. 2006. An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa press pg. 278.
Clarkson, B., Merrett, M. and Downs, T. 2002. Botany of the Waikato. Hamilton: Waikato Botanical Society Inc.
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
Attribution
Description adapted by M. Ward from Bayly & Kellow (2006