Veronica pauciramosa
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing bushy shrub bearing pairs of small oval leaves inhabiting wetter sites in South Island mountains. Leaves with sharp shoulder at base, ridge on underside is flattened at tip, surface spotted. Leaf bud with triangular gap between leaves at base. Flower spikes near tip of twigs, in short spike.
Detailed description
Spreading low or bushy shrub to 0.5 m tall. Branches erect or ascending, old stems brown or black; branchlets green or yellowish, pubescent (hairs multicellular, usually upward-facing), hairs bifarious; internodes (1-) 1.5-4.5 (-5.5) mm; leaf decurrencies extended for length of internode and often more or less swollen; leaves abscising above nodes with a small portion of lower part of petioles remaining attached to stem. Leaf bud tightly surrounded by recently diverged leaves; sinus broad and shield-shaped. Leaves erect to patent; lamina broadly oblong or elliptic to subcircular, rigid, concave, (3-) 3.5-7 (-9) x (1.5-) 3.5-6 (-11.5) mm; apex obtuse; base abruptly truncate; midrib evident in fresh leaves (below), forming a thickened keel that is characteristically flattened toward leaf apex; margin glabrous or ciliolate (with short, stiff hairs); upper surface dark green, glossy, with many stomata, glabrous; lower surface, dark green, glossy; petiole (0.5-) 1-1.5 (-3)mm, glabrous. Inflorescence with 2-10 flowers, lateral, unbranched, 0.7-1.7 (-2) cm; rachis coarsely hairy. Bracts opposite and decussate. connate, deltoid, obtuse, margins minutely hairy or glabrous. Flowers hermaphrodite. Pedicels absent or if evident then always shorter than bracts. Calyx 3.5-4.5 mm, 3-4-lobed (i.e. depending on extent of fusion of anterior lobes), with anterior lobes united from 2/3 to all the way to apex (sometimes splitting secondarily as fruit matures); lobes narrowly to broadly oblong, obtuse or emarginate (the latter in anterior lobes when fused to just below apex, minutely, glandular ciliolate. Corolla tube glabrous or sparsely hairy inside, 3.7-5 x 1.3-1.7 mm, cylindric, longer than calyx; lobes white at anthesis, elliptic or ovate, obtuse (posterior sometimes emarginate), patent to recurved, shorter than or equalling corolla tube. Stamen filaments 3.7-5.5 mm; anthers magenta, 1.4-1.7 mm. Ovary 1-1.4 (-1.6) mm; ovules 10-15 per locule; style 3.8-8 mm. Capsules obtuse, 4-5.5 x 2.5-3.5 mm, loculicidal split extending to approximately 1/3-way to base (although sometimes splitting further when very old). Seeds flattened (sometimes strongly), ellipsoid (sometimes broadly), weakly winged, pale brown, 1.1-1.8 x 0.8-1.1 mm, micropylar rim 0.3-0.5 mm.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from similar species of “Buxifoliatae” (see Bayly & Kellow 2006) by the combination of: bracts distinctly shorter than calyces; strictly lateral inflorescences; stomata on the upper leaf surface; leaves in which the keel (along the underside of the midrib) is characteristically flattened just below the tip; leaf buds that are closely surrounded by several imbricate leaf pairs; anterior calyx lobes fused between 2/3 and all the way to the apex; and corolla lobes that are comparatively narrow relative to their length (particularly when compared with V. masoniae and V. mooreae).
Distribution
Mountains of South Island, from the Allen Range southward, mostly on or west of the Main Divide, but with a few records from drier mountains of the east. It also occurs on Stewart Island, where it has been collected from Mount Anglem and Mount Rakeahua.
Habitat
It usually grows in moist or boggy areas in tussock grassland.
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
Hebe buxifolia var. pauciramosa Cockayne et Allan, Leonohebe pauciramosa ( Cockayne et Allan) Heads, Hebe pauciramosa (Cockayne et Allan) L.B.Moore
Taxonomic notes
As noted by Moore (in Allan 1961), there is one collection at WELT (17269) labelled “Mt Egmont, 4000ft” (D. Petrie, 6 Feb. 1901), and another (WELT 17268) labelled “Port Ross” (T. Kirk, 10 Jan. 1981). No other records are known from either North Island or Auckland Island, and these specimens are not represented on the distribution.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(October-) November-January (-March)
Fruiting
January-May (-November)
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
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’.
pauciramosa: With few branches
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.
VERPAU
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
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: TL
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation Status of Indigenous Vascular Plants in Otago, 2025” Jarvie S et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1.Wellington: Government Printer.
Bayly, M.J., Kellow, A.V. 2006. An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa press pg. 222.
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).