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.
Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species. It was formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae. Common names include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed.
The flora of the Chatham Islands consists of around 388 terrestrial plant species, of which 47 are endemic. The Chatham Islands make up the Chatham floristic province of the Neozeylandic Region of the Antarctic Kingdom.
Veronica barkeri, synonym Hebe barkeri, is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to the Chatham Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was featured as Critter of the Week by Radio New Zealand on 17 May 2019.
Veronica rivalis, synonym Hebe acutiflora, the Northland river koromiko, is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to the north island of New Zealand.
Veronica stricta, synonym Hebe stricta, commonly called koromiko, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, which is endemic to New Zealand.
Veronica epacridea, synonym Hebe epacridea, is a plant of the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to altitudes above 3,000 feet from the Marlborough Region to Otago region on the South Island of New Zealand. It is a low-growing, evergreen shrub, reaching 10 cm in height, with thick, closely placed, recurved green leaves that are 5–7 mm long. Flowers are white.
Veronica odora, known as the boxwood hebe, mountain-box, Hebe odora or Hebe buxifolia, is a plant in the family Plantaginaceae, and it is native to New Zealand. Veronica odora was discovered on the Auckland Islands by J.D Hooker in 1840. A certain amount of confusion later arose following its collection on mainland New Zealand by Ernst Dieffenbach and its naming as Veronica buxifolia by George Bentham. Even overseas, Veronica odora is still not infrequently known as Veronica buxifolia.
Veronica pimeleoides, synonym Hebe pimeleoides, is a flowering plant of the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to the dry mountains of Marlborough and Canterbury, in South Island of New Zealand. It is a low-growing, evergreen shrub, reaching 60 cm in height, with grey-green, spear-shaped leaves that are 7–10 mm long. Flowers are pale lilac.
Veronica salicifolia, synonym Hebe salicifolia, the koromiko, or willow-leaf hebe, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae, which is found throughout the South Island of New Zealand and in Chile. It is a large, evergreen shrub, reaching 2 m in height, with light-green, spear-shaped leaves that are up to 12 cm long, and white or pale lilac flowers.
Veronica tetragona, synonym Hebe tetragona, is a subalpine plant of the family Plantaginaceae, which is endemic to New Zealand.
Veronica pauciramosa, synonym Hebe pauciramosa, is a species of plant in the family Plantaginaceae, endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, where it grows in mountains. It is an upright, evergreen shrub about 16 in (40 cm) tall, with green, spear-shaped leaves 0.2 in (6 mm) long, and white flowers.
Veronica strictissima, the Banks Peninsula hebe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is only found on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand.
Alison Kellow is a botanist and research scientist from Australia, and a lecturer at La Trobe University. As of 2023, she is curator of the La Trobe University Herbarium.
An informal group in taxonomy is a taxonomic rank that is not well defined.
Veronica bishopiana, the Waitākere rock koromiko, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to West Auckland in New Zealand, and was first described by Donald Petrie in 1926.
Veronica obtusata, the northern hebe, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Plantaginaceae. It is native to northern New Zealand, and was first described by Thomas Cheeseman in 1916.
Veronica brachysiphon, is a species of shrubby plant in the family Plantaginaceae, endemic to New Zealand.
Ourisia macrophyllasubsp.lactea is a subspecies of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae that is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Lucy Moore described O. macrophylla var. lactea in 1961, and Heidi Meudt changed the rank to subspecies in 2006. Plants of this subspecies of New Zealand foxglove are showy, perennial, large-leaved, tufted, rhizomatous herbs that are often hairy with non-glandular or glandular hairs. They have crenate, ovate to heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are in whorls in each node, with a regular calyx, and a large, white irregular corolla. The calyx and floral bracts have glandular hairs. The corolla tube is yellow with three lines of yellow hairs inside. It is found in montane to subalpine habitats and is listed as Not Threatened.
The Auckland Region of New Zealand is home to numerous endemic flora and fauna. Many of these species have ranges restricted to the Waitākere Ranges, Great Barrier Island, Little Barrier Island and the Mokohinau Islands. A number of species have restricted ranges that include areas outside of the Auckland Region, such as Buller's shearwater and Pycroft's petrel, or organisms such as the brown teal / pateke and stitchbird / hihi which have recently increased ranges due to conservation efforts.
