Veronica truncatula
Common names
hebe
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Bushy shrub bearing pairs of often curved narrow glossy leaves clustered towards tip of erect twigs inhabiting subalpine areas of the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges. Leaves to 42mm long by 10.3mm wide, margin hairy (lens needed). Flowers white, in spikes to 8cm long towards tip of twigs.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Bushy shrub to 2 m tall. Branches erect, old stems brown; branchlets green, pubescent or puberulent, hairs uniform or bifarious; internodes 2-10 mm; leaf decurrencies evident. Leaf bud distinct; sinus absent. Leaves erecto-patent; lamina lanceolate or narrowly elliptic or narrowly oblong, coriaceous, slightly concave, (13-) 18-42 x (3.7-) 5.2-8.5 (-10.3) mm; apex truncate or slightly apiculate or subacute; midrib conspicuously depressed to grooved above and thickened below; margin ciliate or pubescent; upper surface dark green, glossy, without evident or with few stomata, hairy along midrib; lower surface light green. Inflorescences with 28-68 flowers. lateral, almost always unbranched but rarely (only seen on a cultivated specimen) tripartite, 3-7.5 cm, with all flowers (including those near the apex) generally developing to maturity (although sometimes with a few undeveloped flowers); peduncle 0.8-1.8 cm; rachis 2.4-6 cm. Bracts alternate, linear or deltoid or elliptic or oblanceolate, acute or obtuse. Flowers hermaphrodite or female (on different plants). Pedicels 0.8-1.8 mm. Calyx 2-3 mm; lobes lanceolate or elliptic, obtuse or subacute. Corolla tube hairy inside; tube of hermaphrodite flowers 2-3.2 x approximately 1.7-2.2 mm, funnelform or cylindric, slightly shorter to longer than calyx; lobes white or tinged mauve at anthesis, ovate or elliptic, obtuse, suberect to patent, longer than or equalling corolla tube. Stamen filaments 4.5-5.5 mm; anthers purple, approximately 1.8-2.1 mm. Ovary approximately 1.2-1.5 mm; ovules 15-28 per locule, in 1-2 layers; style 5-7 mm. Capsules obtuse or truncate to subacute, 3-4 x 2-3 mm, loculicidal split extending from ¼ to all the way to base (although often barely splitting at all). Seed characters not recorded.
Similar taxa
Generally, resembles V. subalpina, and Druce (1993), Wilson & Galloway (1993) and Brandon (1995) considered it should be recognised as a subspecies or variety of that species. However, it can be distinguished from V. subalpina by its hairy leaf margins, longer corolla tubes and by its flavonoid profile (Mitchell et al. 2007), and it is at least as distinct from V. subalpina as are some other species (e.g. V. calcicola). Because there is no compelling evidence that V. subalpina is necessarily its closest relative, V. truncatula is retained here as a distinct species. Differences from V. evenosa, which also occurs on North Island, are discussed under that species. V. truncatula differs from V. calcicola, which has similar glossy leaves with hairy leaf margins, by its glabrous ovaries and fruit, and longer corolla tubes.
Distribution
Ruahine Range, from near Reporoa Bog to near Maharahara,
Habitat
Grows in subalpine shrubland.
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, RR
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Hebe truncatula (Colenso) L.B.Moore
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(Nov-) January-February (-March)
Fruiting
April-May
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’.
truncatula: From the Latin truncatus ‘truncate, ending abruptly’ and -ula a diminutive suffix, referring the leaf apex.
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.
VERTRU
Chromosome number
2n = 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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR, Sp
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP, RR, Sp
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon
2004 | Not Threatened
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 pg. 154.
Brandon, A. 1995. Species limits in the Hebe subalpina complex (Scrophulariaceae). Unpublished BSc. (Hons) thesis, Victoria University of Wellington. Wellington, New Zealand. (Copy held in the library of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.)
Druce, A. P. 1993. Indigenous vascular plants of New Zealand. 9th revision. 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.
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.
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.
Attribution
Description adapted by M. Ward from Bayly & Kellow (2006).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: Ward, M.D. (Year at time of access): Veronica truncatula Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/veronica-truncatula/ (Date website was queried)