Veronica stricta var. macroura
Common name
koromiko
Synonyms
Veronica macroura Hook.f. ex Bent. Hebe macroura (Benth.) Cockayne et Allan, Veronica cookiana Colenso, Veronica macroura var. cookiana (Colenso) Cheeseman, Hebe cookiana (Colenso) Cockayne et Allan, Hebe stricta var. macroura (Benth.) L.B.Moore
Family
Plantaginaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
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.
HEBSVM
Chromosome number
2n = 40
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Bushy shrub bearing pairs of thin broad oval leaves inhabiting coastal sites in the central North Island. Leaves variable, to 106mm long, widest around middle and rapidly tapering towards tip and base. Leaf bud with no gap at base. Flowers white or pinkish, spike to 17cm long.
Distribution
Endemic. Variable but as circumscribed here locally common in coastal situations from Cape Reinga to Wellington. An extreme form, with very large, broad, glaucous leaves, and a very flat almost creeping habit, and which has been segregated in the past as both Veronica or Hebe cookiana is endemic to the papa mudstone cliffs from Hicks Bay to Mahia Peninsula.
Habitat
Strictly coastal where it usually grows on cliff faces and associated talus slopes.
Features
Shrub (0.2-)1 x 1(-2) m, sprawling to suberect or erect. Branchlets finely pubescent or entirely glabrous. Stem internodes longer than stem diameter. Leaf bud without sinus. Leaves, spreading, 50-100(-110) mm, dull green or glaucous (if so then somewhat glossy), obovate-oblong, somewhat leathery or fleshy, apex obtuse, leaf margin usually entire, occasionally toothed. Inflorescence axillary, racemose, about length of leaves but often much shorter, and then obscured by foliage, sometimes drooping, all parts pubescent or glabrescent. Flowers densely crowded on raceme, rather sweetly (sometimes over powerfully so) scented, white (rarely lilac). Calyx-lobes oblong, obtuse. Corolla tube 4-6 mm, exceeding calyx, narrow, cylindric, lobes rounded. Capsules < 5 mm long, glabrous, erect, suberect or drooping.
Similar taxa
Veronica stricta var. macroura differs from other accepted varieties of V. stricta primarily by the obovate-oblong leaves, and the generally smaller, compact, often sprawling, shrub habit. An exact circumscription for this variety is difficult, and in the relevant geographic parts of the country it grades into populations that have been called Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii (included here in Veronica stricta var. stricta) as well as Veronica stricta var. stricta, such that field distinction is well nigh impossible.
Flowering
(July-) August (-October) but flowering can also occur sporadically throughout the year
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Fruiting
(September-) November (-January) but seed capsules may be found throughout the year
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and semi hardwood cuttings.
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’.
stricta: From the Latin strictus ‘upright, stiff’
macroura: From the Greek macro ‘large’ and urus ‘tail’, perhaps referring to the inflorescences.
Where To Buy
Occasionally cultivated, particularly the distinctive, glaucous leaved East Cape entity. Not often offered by commercial nurseries.
Taxonomic notes
The form endemic to the marine siltstone/mudstone geologies of the eastern side of the North Island, and known by the names Veronica cookiana and Hebe cookiana seems very distinct from other forms currently included within var. macroura.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange (1 February 2005). Description based on Allan (1961) - see also Bayly & Kellow (2006)
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Wellington, Government Printer
Bayly M. and Kellow A. 2006. An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes.Te Papa Press: Wellington
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica stricta var. macroura Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-stricta-var-macroura/ (Date website was queried)