Veronica pimeleoides subsp. pimeleoides
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing blue-green shrub bearing pairs of small oval leaves on reddish stems inhabiting dry valleys in the South Island. Leaves 3.5-8.9mm long by 1.5-4.5mm wide. Leaf bud with small narrow gap between leaves at base. Flowers pinkish, in spikes with up to 12 flowers.
Flower colours
Blue, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Usually very low-growing and spreading, sometimes mat-like up to approximately 30 cm tall. Branches prostrate or sprawling to decumbent, sometimes forming a dense mat. Branchlets brown or red-brown or black, glabrous or pubescent, hairs bifarious or uniform; internodes (0.5-)2-10(-14.5) mm; leaf decurrencies obscure. Leaf bud distinct, or tightly surrounded by recently diverged leaves; sinus absent, or small and acute. Leaves narrowly elliptic to elliptic or ovate, lamina (2-)3.5-8.9(-12.1) x (0.7-) 1.5-4.5(-5.2) mm, usually glabrous, but sometimes with one or both surfaces covered in short eglandular hairs. Inflorescences with 4-12 flowers. Flowers blue or violet to mauve, fading to mauve after pollination. Calyces and bracts ciliolate or ciliate on the margins and, on hairy-leaved plants, covered in eglandular hairs.
Similar taxa
Veronica subsp. faucicola has generally been known to New Zealand botanists as Veronica pimeleoides var. rupestris; nomenclatural reasons for a change in name are outlined by Kellow et al. (2003). It is distinguished from Veronica subsp. pimeleoides by its height, its stouter, ascending to erect branches, its generally paler flowers, and by its habitat, growing exclusively on rocky outcrops or cliff faces, in river valleys and in gorges. Like Veronica subsp. pimeleoides, the presence of a leaf bud sinus, stem and ovary indumentum and leaf shape are all variable, and two chromosome numbers are recorded.
Distribution
Endemic. South Island on drier mountains east of the Main Divide, from the Inland Kaikoura Ranges to near Lake Wakatipu.
Habitat
Mostly on terraces, slopes or embankments near lakes and rivers.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Veronica pimeleoides var. minor Hook.f., Hebe pimeleoides var. minor (Hook.f.) Cockayne et Allan, Hebe pimeleoides (Hook.f.) Cockayne et Allan subsp. pimeleoides
Taxonomic notes
A distinctive but highly variable species, distinguished from other “Subcarnosae” by its leaf shape, habit and flower shape and colour. P. subsp. pimeleoides varies in stature, from small mat-forming plants to sprawling plants with long trailing stems. It also varies in leaf shape and size; internode length; inflorescence length; the indumentum of leaves, stems and ovaries; the presence/absence, or prominence, of a leaf bud sinus; leaf colour; and in chromosome number. These characters may vary both within and between populations, with some morphological traits varying on individual plants. Some traits may be related to environmental aspects of morphological variation are discussed by Kellow el al. (2003).
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December-March
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for March 2018 for the full story.
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’.
pimeleoides: Pimeleoides means “resembling Pimelea’’, a genus in the family Thymelaeaceae (Greek, -oides = resembling, like).
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.
VERPSP
Chromosome number
2n = 40 or 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
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally At Risk – Regionally Declining | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, NR, NStr, RR, Sp
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
Bayly, M.J., Kellow, A.V. 2006 An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa press pgs. 140-142
Kellow, A. V., Bayly, M. J., Mitchell, K. A., Markham, K. R. and Garnock-Jones, P. J. 2003 Variation in morphology and flavonoid chemistry in Hebe pimeleoides (Scrophulariaceae), including a revised subspecific classification. New Zealand Journal of Botany 41: 233-53.
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).