Veronica treadwellii
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Low growing bushy shrub to 30cm tall bearing pairs of oval dished leaves inhabiting wetter mountains of central South island. Leaves 13-29mm long by 5.5-12mm wide. Leaf bud without gap at base. Flowers white, in spike to 3cm long towards tip of twigs.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Spreading low shrub to 0.3 m tall. Branches decumbent or ascending, old stems dark brown or red-brown; branchlets green or red-brown, pubescent to puberulent or glabrous, hairs bifarious; internodes 1.5-10 (-11.5) mm; leaf decurrencies evident (sometimes weakly). Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent. Leaves decussate to somewhat subdistichous, erecto-patent; lamina elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, subcoriaceous to fleshy, concave, (10.7-) 13-29 (-31.6) x (4.2-)S.5-I 2(-14.6) mm; apex subacute to obtuse; 2 lateral secondary veins sometimes evident at base of fresh leaves; midrib slightly depressed to grooved above; margin usually cartilaginous, glabrous; upper surface light to dark green, glossy, with many stomata (but these not always readily visible), glabrous or hairy along midrib; lower surface green or light green, dull or glossy. Inflorescences with (5-) 8-34 flowers, lateral, unbranched, 1.5-3.1 cm, about equal to or slightly longer than subtending leaves; peduncle 0.5-1.4 cm; rachis (0.7-) 0.9-2.2 cm. Bracts alternate (sometimes with lowermost pair more or less opposite), linear or lanceolate or ovate or oblong or deltoid, obtuse to acute. Flowers, hermaphrodite or female (on different plants). Pedicels 0-2.5 mm. Calyx 2.1-3.3 mm; lobes, oblong to lanceolate or deltoid, acute to subacute. Corolla tube glabrous; tube of hermaphrodite flower 1.9-3.5 x 1.3-2 mm, cylindric or funnelform and sometimes contracted at base, equalling or longer than calyx; tube of female flower 1.3-1.8 x 1.5-1.7 mm, contracted at base, shorter than or equalling calyx; lobes white at anthesis, ovate (anterior sometimes narrowly) or elliptic or oblong-elliptic, obtuse (but sometimes appearing subacute because of margin in-rolling), suberect to patent, longer than or equalling corolla tube. Stamen filaments 1.5-4.5 mm; anthers pink (sometimes pale) or cream; sterile anthers of female flowers yellow, 0.9-1.2 mm. Ovary conical to ovoid; ovules approximately 12-17 per locule, in 1-2 layers; style 3.5-10.5 mm; stigma larger in female flowers. Capsules acute or obtuse, (2.5-)2.9-5 x 1.6-3 mm, loculicidal split extending ¼-½-way to base. Seeds flattened, ellipsoid to discoid, not winged to only weakly winged, straw-yellow or pale brown, 0.9-1.5 x 0.8-1.1(-1.3) mm, micropylar rim 0.3-0.6 mm.
Similar taxa
Often confused with, V. subalpina. It is distinguished from this species primarily on the basis of habit, but also tends to have relatively broader, dish-like, obovate or oblanceolate to elliptic leaves, and sometimes longer corolla tubes. It also has a different flavonoid profile (Mitchell et al. 2007). Near the type locality, Sealy Range (Aoraki/Mt Cook area), and presumably at other locations where V. treadwellii and V. subalpina occur in close proximity, the two species are readily distinguishable in the field, on the basis of habit and leaf shape. Reliable identification of herbarium specimens is problematic, because of variation in leaf shape in both species, and because details of habit are often lost when plants are pressed. For this reason, the distribution of V. treadwellii may be underestimated.
Distribution
Mountains of Nelson on Canterbury and Westland, on or west of the Main Divide, from Bald Knob Ridge to the Selbourne Range.
Habitat
Grows in subalpine shrubland and penalpine 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 brockiei G.Simpson et J.S.Thomson, Hebe treadwellii Cockayne et Allan
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - February
Fruiting
(December-) February (-October)
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Placed incertae sedis by Moore (in Allan 1961), but generally recognised as a distinct species by subsequent authors (e.g. Wardle 1975; Druce 1980; Heads 1993; Wilson & Galloway 1993: Wilson 1996; Parsons et al. 1998).
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’.
treadwellii: Named in honour of Charles H Treadwell (1862-1936)
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.
VERTRE
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
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2025 | Regionally At Risk – Regionally Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DPT, Sp, NR
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. Volume 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. 156-157.
Druce, A. P. I980. Trees, shrubs, and Lianes of New Zealand (including wild hybrids). Unpublished checklist held at Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand. (Copy also held in the library of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.)
Heads, M. J. 1993. Biogeography and biodiversity in Hebe, a South Pacific genus of Scrophulariaceae. Candollea 48: 19-60.
Mitchell, K. A., Kellow, A. V., Bayly, M. J., Markham, K. R., Brownsey, P. J., & Garnock‐Jones, P. J. 2007. Composition and distribution of leaf flavonoids in Hebe and Leonohebe (Plantaginaceae) in New Zealand—2. “Apertae”, “Occlusae”, and “Grandiflorae”. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 45(2), 329-392.
Parsons, M. J., Douglass, P. and Macmillan, B. H. 1998. Current Names for Wild Plants in New Zealand. Lincoln: Manaaki Whenua Press.
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
Wilson, H. D. and Galloway, T. 1993 Small-leaved Shrubs of New Zealand. Christchurch: Manuka Press.
Wilson, H. D. 1996. Wild Plants of Mount Cook National Park. 2nd edn. Christchurch: Manuka Press.
Attribution
Description adapted by M. Ward from Bayly & Kellow (2006).