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  4. Veronica stricta var. stricta

Veronica stricta var. stricta

Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 08/02/2014, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Rotorua, February.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Rotorua, February.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Hebe stricta var. stricta.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Hebe stricta var. stricta.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Hebe stricta var. stricta.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Photographer: Eddie Wajon, Date taken: 08/05/2010, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Putangirua Pinnacles, Paliser Bay.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 16/08/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 14/02/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Boulder Hill, western Hutt hills.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 02/03/2013, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Tokatoka Hill, Northland.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 17/07/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
tokatoka Hill, Northland.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 17/07/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
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Common name

koromiko

Synonyms

Veronica stricta Benth., Veronica salicifolia var. stricta (Benth.) Hook.f., Hebe salicifolia var. stricta (Benth.) Cockayne et Allan, Veronica parkinsoniana Colenso, Hebe parkinsoniana (Colenso) Cockayne, Veronica salicifolia var. longiracemosa Cockayne, Hebe salicifolia var. longiracemosa (Cockayne) Cockayen et Allan, Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii (Cockayne) L.B.Moore, Hebe stricta (Benth.) L.B.Moore var. stricta

Family

Plantaginaceae

Authority

Veronica stricta Benth. var. stricta

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.

HEBSVS

Chromosome number

2n = 40, 80

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

The threat classification 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) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website 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. Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – a suggested threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.

Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

2017 | Not Threatened

Previous conservation statuses

2012 | Not Threatened

2009 | Not Threatened

2004 | Not Threatened

Brief description

Common bushy shrub bearing pairs of narrow pointed thin leaves inhabiting the North and South Islands. Leaves variable, to 127mm long, widest around middle and tapering towards narrow tip, margin hairy (lens needed). Leaf bud with no gap at base. Flowers white or pinkish, spike to 22cm long.

Distribution

Endemic to the North and northern South Island. Somewhat local in the far North, otherwise common and widespread in the North Island. Only locally common in the northern South Island.

Habitat

Common in successional habitats from coastal areas to lower montane habitats.

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).

FACU: Facultative Upland

Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).

Features

Shrub or small tree (1-)2(-4) m tall. Branchlets finely pubescent. Stem internodes longer than stem diameter. Leaf bud without sinus. Leaves, spreading, 50-100(-120) mm, dull green to yellow-green (not glossy), lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, somewhat leathery, apex often acuminate, leaf margin usually entire, occasionally toothed. Inflorescence lateral, racemose, much longer than leaves, drooping, sometimes spiraled, all parts except flower finely pubescent. Flowers sweetly (sometimes over powerfully so) scented, lilac, mauve or white. Corolla tube 6 mm, exceeding calyx, narrow, cylindric, lobes rounded. Capsules < 5 mm long, pendent, all parts pubescent.

Similar taxa

Veronica stricta var. stricta (including Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii - which has not valid name in Veronica) differ from the other varieties primarily by the open branching habit, dull-surfaced, somewhat leathery leaves, and by the longer stem internodes. Support for the ongoing recognition of Hebe stricta var. atkinsonii is doubtful. For those who wish to distinguish it, Veronica stricta var. stricta differs from var. atkinsonii by the calyx-lobes, bracts and usually capsules, being finely pubescent, and with the racemes (and capsules) usually drooping.

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

Life cycle

Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

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’

Where To Buy

Commonly cultivated, though not often now seen for sale within commercial nurseries.

Taxonomic notes

Veronica stricta var. stricta as currently circumscribed remains a very variable species with both diploid (2n = 40) and tetraploid (2n = 80) cytoraces known. Further study into this variation is needed.

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.

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.

NZPCN Fact Sheet citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Veronica stricta var. stricta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-stricta-var-stricta/ (Date website was queried)

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