Veronica stenophylla var. stenophylla
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Bushy shrub bearing pairs of very narrow leaves that have small pits near margin (lens needed) inhabiting central New Zealand. Leaves to 87mm long by 9.5mm wide, upper side dotted. Flowers white, tubular, in spikes to 95mm long.
Detailed description
Spreading low or bushy shrub (often openly branched) to 2 m tall. Branches erect. old stems grey; branchlets olive-green or red-brown, glabrous or bifariously to uniformly puberulent; internodes (1-) 4-13 (-24) mm; leaf decurrencies evident (usually, weakly), or obscure. Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent. Leaves linear, or lanceolate, or elliptic, 19-87 x 2.5- 6.5(-9.5) mm; upper surface conspicuously pitted to apparently smooth (except along margins), stomata sparse to dense; margins broad, glabrous (us,) or minutely hairy (especially toward the apex). Lower surface green (often paler than upper), conspicuously pitted with small depressions that each contain a twin-headed glandular hair. Inflorescences with (35-) 55-130 (-170) flowers, lateral, unbranched, 26-95 mm long; peduncle (0.5-) 1-1.5 (-2.1) cm; rachis (2-) 4.5-6 (-9) cm. Bracts alternate, ovate or deltoid, acute (mostly) or obtuse. Flowers, hermaphrodite or female (on different plants). Pedicels longer than or equal to bracts, (0.5-) 1-3 (-5) mm, hairy or glabrous. Calyx 1.5-2.5 mm; lobes ovate or oblong, obtuse to acute, eglandular ciliate (usually) or with mixed glandular and eglandular cilia (glandular hairs often with a single, rounded cell at the apex; twin-headed hairs, when present, usually sparse). Corolla tube usually glabrous within, 3-4.9 mm long, tube of hermaphrodite flowers (1.8) 3-4.9 x 1.3-2 mm, contracted at base and cylindric or expanded in lower half, longer than calyx; lobe white or tinged mauve at anthesis, ovate (often broadly) or circular or elliptic, obtuse (posterior sometimes emarginate), suberect to recurved (mostly patent), shorter than corolla tube. Stamen filaments incurved at apex in bud, 2.5-4.4 mm; anthers magenta, 1-1.5 mm. Ovary approximately 0.8-0.9 mm; ovules 4-10 per locule; style 3-7 mm. Capsules acute or obtuse. (2-) 2.5-3.5 x (0.8-) 1.5-3 mm, loculicidal split extending ¼-¾-way to base. Seeds flattened, more or less ellipsoid to oblong, straw-yellow to pale brown, 0.9-1 .5 (-2) x 0.7-0.9 (-1.1) mm, micropylar rim 0.2-0.3 mm.
Similar taxa
Key distinguishing features include: the presence of small pits, at least on the lower leaf surface (usually conspicuous under a dissecting microscope, each containing a recessed glandular hair); leaf margins that are usually smooth and glabrous (only occasionally hairy); corolla tubes that are longer than calyces and usually glabrous within; and calyx cilia only rarely including twin-headed glandular hairs.
Similar to:
V. traversii, is distinguished by the combination of non-pitted leaves, minutely hairy leaf margins, and hairs inside the corolla tubes.
V. parviflora (in which it was included, as var. angustifolia, by Moore, in Allan 1961), is distinguished by having often smooth (only sometimes pitted) leaf surfaces, minutely hairy leaf margins, corolla tubes that are hairy within and calyx cilia always including twin headed glandular hairs.
V. strictissima distinguished by having corolla tubes equal to or slightly exceeding surrounding calyces.
V. stenophylla var. oliveri has leaves 3-6 times as long as broad, upper surface with few stomata, V. stenophylla var. stenophylla has leave less than 6 times as long as broad, or, if not then upper leaf surface with many stomata.
V. stenophylla var. hesperia has corolla tube 1.8-3 (3.5) mm long, hairy within; branchlets bifariously to uniformly puberulent; upper surface of leaves with few stomata, V. stenophylla var. stenophylla has corolla tube less than 3 mm long, glabrous or (very rarely) hairy within; branchlets glabrous or bifariously to (rarely) uniformly puberulent; upper surface of leaves with many stomata.
Distribution
North and South Island - Central and eastern North Island (from near Gisborne to Wanganui and northern Wairarapa, with outlying populations near Hamilton) and northern South Island (as far south as a line from Westport to Cape Campbell).
Habitat
Mostly on bluffs, terraces or rocky areas, often along streams and roadsides.
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 parviflora var. angustifolia Hook.f., Hebe parviflora var. angustifolia (Hppk.f.) L.B.Moore, Veronica angustifolia A.Rich. nom. illeg., Hebe angustifolia Cockayne et Allan, Veronica angustifolia var. abbreviata Petrie, Veronica squalida Kirk, Hebe stenophylla (Steudel) Bayly et Garn.-Jones var. stenophylla
Taxonomic notes
V. stenophylla var. stenophylla is variable in habit, and in the shape and size of the leaves. This is partly correlated with geographic distribution and habitat, and several distinctive variants can be identified, but relationships of these are unknown, and some specimens remain difficult to place (hence no further, formal subdivision of the variety is attempted; Bayly et al. 2000). Typical forms occur on SI, are shrubs up to approximately 2 m high, and have linear-lanceolate leaves that are often strongly recurved or falcate, giving plants an “inelegant appearance” (as described by T. Kirk in the protologue of Veronica squalida). On North Island, one extreme of the morphological range is an erect, openly branched shrub, usually less than 1 m high, with very narrowly linear-lanceolate leaves that are often somewhat recurved. Plants of this type are apparently restricted to exposed mudstone on cliffs or embankments, are fairly uniform in appearance, and seem to retain their features in cultivation. Superficially, they most closely resemble South Island plants, from which they differ primarily (though not consistently) in stature, leaf width and the possession of numerous stomata on the upper leaf surface. Plants from other North Island populations are generally somewhat broader-leaved than the “mudstone” variant, and occur mostly in rocky areas on cliffs, bluffs or scree.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December-April (-September)
Fruiting
January-July (-December)
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’.
stenophylla: From the Greek steno ‘narrow’ and phyllum ‘leaf”, referring to the narrow leaves
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.
VERSSV
Chromosome number
2n = 40
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., Garnock-Jones, P. J., Mitchell, K. A., Markham, K. R. and Brownsey, P. J. 2000. A taxonomic revision of the Hebe parviflora complex (Scrophulariaceae), based on morphology and flavonoid chemistry. New Zealand Journal of Botany 38: 165-90.
Bayly, M.J., Kellow, A.V. 2006. An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington, N.Z.: Te Papa press pg. 170-172.
Kirk. T. 1896. Notes on certain Veronicas, and descriptions of new species. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 28: 515- 31.
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).