Veronica obtusata

Detailed description

Spreading low shrub to 0.5 m tall. Branches prostrate or decumbent, old stems brown or grey; branchlets red-brown, puberulent, hairs bifarious or uniform (sometimes very sparse); internodes (2–) 10–39 mm; leaf decurrencies evident (often with a narrow ridge along medial line) or obscure. Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent. Leaves decussate to subdistichous, erecto-patent to patent; lamina obovate (usually) or elliptic or circular or oblong. Coriaceous, flat or slightly m-shaped in transverse section, (6–) 20–55 x (6.5–) 11–20 (–28.5) mm; apex obtuse or rounded or rarely retuse; margin cartilaginous, pubescent (usually very conspicuously), often tinged red; upper surface dark green, glossy, without evident stomata, usually hairy along midrib; lower surface light green, hairy along midrib and sometimes covered with minute glandular hairs (when young). Inflorescences with 34–88 flowers, lateral, unbranched, 3.8–12.6 cm; peduncle 0.7–3.1 cm; rachis 3.2–9.5 cm. Bracts alternate, lanceolate or narrowly oblong, acute or subacute, sometimes hairy outside. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels 1-3.3 mm sometimes recurved in fruit. Calyx 2.5–3.5 mm; lobes narrowly elliptic or oblong, obtuse to acute, often hairy outside. Corolla tube hairy inside and sometimes outside, 2.3–4 × 1.7-2 mm (usually quite asymmetric—longer on anterior side), funnelform, about equalling or longer than calyx; lobes white or tinged mauve at anthesis. white or mauve with age, ovate or lanceolate or elliptic, obtuse or subacute, suberect to patent, longer to shorter than corolla tube (varies on one flower because of asymmetric division of corolla), hairy inside or at least with a few hairs toward base on inner surface and sometimes ciliate (near base) or hairy outside. Stamen filaments white or mauve, 4.7–7.5 mm; anthers buff or mauve, 1.5–2.2 mm. Ovary sometimes sparsely hairy, 0.8–1 mm; ovules approximately 10–13 per locule; style 5–7 mm, sometimes sparsely hairy. Capsules acute or subacute, 3.7–4.5 × 2–2.3 mm, sometimes hairy, loculicidal split extending one-quarter way to base. Seeds flattened, ellipsoid to discoid, straw-yellow, 0.9–1.3 × 0.7–0.9 mm, micropylar rim approximately 0.2 mm.