Veronica brachysiphon

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Veronica brachysiphon
Veronica brachysiphon MRD 01.jpg
Status NZTCS NT.svg
Not Threatened (NZ TCS) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Section: Veronica sect. Hebe
Species:
V. brachysiphon
Binomial name
Veronica brachysiphon
(Summerh.) Bean
Synonyms
  • Hebe brachysiphon Summerh.

Veronica brachysiphon (formerly known as Hebe brachysiphon), is a species of shrubby plant in the family Plantaginaceae, endemic to New Zealand.

Contents

Etymology

The name brachysiphon refers to its short flower tubes (brachy is Greek for short, siphon is a straw or tube), which distinguish it from V. traversii. [2]

Distribution

V. brachysiphon is found only in New Zealand, imostly in subalpine areas of Marlborough and Canterbury from the main divide to the eastern foothills. Its northern limit is the Red Hills Range near Nelson, and its southern is near Mount Hutt. It prefers shrubland but can be found in beech forest near the treeline. [2] [3]

Description

This bushy, rounded shrub grows up to 1.8 m tall, and is usually closely branched and compact. The leaf buds have a small, narrow, acute sinus, distinguishing them from similar species. The leaves are variable, 8.5–25.5 mm long and 3.3–8 mm wide; [4] they are not glaucous, but bright green and glossy with many stomata on the upper surface, usually more than in the closely-related V. venustula . [3]

Flowers showing the extended corolla Veronica brachysiphon flowers MRD.jpg
Flowers showing the extended corolla

V. brachysiphon usually flowers from December to February. The white flowers have mauve anthers and are pedicellate (borne on a stalk) with small bracts. The cylindrical or funnel-shaped tube of the corolla is longer than the calyces at its base, another distinctive feature of this species. Male and female flowers are carried on different plants. [3]

V. brachysiphon can be confused with V. divaricata; although it is a compact subalpine shub with simple inflorescences, and V. divaricata is more open with branched inflorescences, some individuals in the Nelson Lakes area can be intermediate in form. [3]

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<i>Veronica <span style="font-style:normal;">sect.</span> Hebe</i> Genus of flowering plants

Veronica sect. Hebe is a group of plants within the genus Veronica, native to New Zealand, Rapa in French Polynesia, the Falkland Islands and South America. It was formerly treated as the separate genus Hebe. It includes about 90 species. Almost all species occur in New Zealand, apart from Veronica rapensis and Veronica salicifolia, found in South America. It is named after the Greek goddess of youth, Hebe. Informally, species in the section may be called shrubby veronicas or hebes.

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<i>Myosotis lyallii</i> Species of flowering plant

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Myosotis brockieisubsp. dysis is a subspecies of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, endemic to southern South Island of New Zealand. Shannel Courtney and Heidi Meudt described this subspecies in 2021. Plants of this subspecies of forget-me-not are perennial rosettes which form stoloniferous mats, with long, ebracteate, erect inflorescences, and white corollas with exserted stamens.

<i>Myosotis traversii</i> Species of flowering plant

Myosotis traversii is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Joseph Dalton Hooker described this species in 1864. Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial rosettes which form tufts or clumps, with ebracteate, erect inflorescences, and white or yellow corollas with partly exserted stamens.

References

  1. "Veronica brachysiphon". NZTCS. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Flora of New Zealand | Taxon Profile | Veronica brachysiphon". NZFlora. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bayly, M.J.; Kellow, A.V. (2006). An illustrated guide to New Zealand Hebes. Wellington: Te Papa Press. pp. 256–257. ISBN   978-0-909010-12-6.
  4. "Veronica brachysiphon". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 21 January 2024.