Veronica hookeriana
Common names
Hooker’s speedwell, Hooker’s parahebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Low subshrub, loose cushion or mat-forming subshrub to 200 mm tall. Stems brown, red-brown or grey. Branches prostrate to ascending. Branchlets brown, red-brown, green or purplish. Vegetative internodes 2-20 mm long. Leaves erecto-patent to reflexed. Lamina lanceolate, oblanceolate, ovate, obovate, oblong, elliptic, orbicular or rhomboid, 3.0-14.0 × 2.5-10.0 mm, upper surface dull green, bronze green or dark green, under surface pale green, dull. Leaf hairs sparse, numerous or absent. Apex subacute, obtuse or rounded. Base cuneate. Margin glabrous, ciliate, glandular-ciliate or pubescent, bluntly crenate to serrate. Marginal teeth or lobes in 1-4 pairs. Petiole 1-3 mm long. Inflorescence racemose, unbranched, 3-15-flowered. Peduncle 15-60 mm long, eglandular-pubescent, glandular-pubescent or mixed. Rachis 10-70 mm long, eglandular-pubescent, glandular-pubescent or mixed. Bracts alternate, obtuse to acute, eglandular-hairy above or ciliate, lanceolate to elliptic or narrowly deltoid. Bract margins entire. Pedicels erecto-patent at anthesis, straight or incurved at fruiting, 3-18 mm long, eglandular-pubescent to glandular-pubescent. Flowers: Calyx 4-lobed, 2-3 mm long; lobes elliptic to ovate, subacute to obtuse, margins entire. Calyx hairs on margins only or on both under and upper surfaces. Corolla pink, violet, or mauve at anthesis. Nectar guides evident, present on posterior and lateral corolla lobes or on all corolla lobes. Colour ring and nectar guides magenta. Corolla throat yellow. Corolla 6-15 mm diameter. Corolla tube 1.0-1.5 × 1.0-1.5 mm wide, shortly hairy inside. Corolla lobes glabrous. Posterior corolla lobe circular, elliptic or rhomboid, usually obtuse or rarely emarginate, 5-7 × 4.6-6.0 mm. Lateral corolla lobes elliptic, obtuse, longitudinally folded around stamens, 4.5-6.5 × 4.5-8.0 mm. Anterior corolla lobe elliptic or oblong or rhomboid, obtuse, 4-6 × 2-4 mm. Stamen filaments white or coloured, 4-6 mm long. Anthers pink, magenta or violet, 1.0-1.2 mm long. Nectarial disc ciliolate. Ovary ovoid, globose or ellipsoid, obtuse or emarginate, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, 1.0-1.5 mm long. Style 4.0-5.5 mm long. Capsules. weakly flattened, truncate to emarginate, 3-6 × 3-5 mm, glabrous. Septicidal split extending to base. Loculicidal split extending ½ way to base. Seeds ellipsoid, obovoid, discoid, pale brown, dark brown or brown, 1.0-3.0 × 0.6-1.3 mm
Similar taxa
Distinguished by the long, eglandular and sometimes glandular leaf hairs; by the leaf marginal teeth in 1-4 pairs; by the mauve corolla with mauve or magenta nectar guides; glabrous capsules, and 1-3 mm long seeds.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island: (Raukumara, Huiarau, Kaimanawa, Maungaharuru)
Habitat
Subalpine to alpine. In open sites such as screes, fellfield, banks, rock outcrops and lava fields
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
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Veronica olsenii Colenso, Parahebe hookeriana (Walp.) W.R.B.Oliv., Parahebe hookeriana (Walp.) W.R.B.Oliv. var. hookeriana, Parahebe hookeriana var. olsenii (Colenso) Ashwin
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - January
Fruiting
November - May
Propagation technique
Easily grown from cuttings, rooted pieces and fresh seed.
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’.
hookeriana: Named after Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (born 1817) - a world famous botanist who travelled on the Antarctic expedition of 1839 under the command of Sir James Ross and wrote “Handbook of New Zealand Flora” published in 1864-67 describing many specimens sent to Kew by collectors. He died in 1911 and has a memorial stone at Westminster Abbey London.
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.
VERHOO
Chromosome number
2n = 42
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
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 hookeriana Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-hookeriana/ (Date website was queried)