Koromiko is a hebe found throughout the Mainland New Zealand, with long pale green leaves and tiny white flowers in summer formed into a dense inflorescence longer than the leaves. It is a hardy plant and does not tolerate shade. It prefers full sun and open habitats on edge of bush and wetlands as it tolerates wet areas.[citation needed]
Veronica stricta is the most commonly referred to plant that is called koromiko.[3]
Veronica stricta var. egmontiana(L.B.Moore) Garn.-Jones – North Island
Veronica stricta var. lata(L.B.Moore) Garn.-Jones – North Island
Veronica stricta var. macroura(Hook.f. ex Benth.) Garn.-Jones – North Island
Veronica stricta var. stricta – North and South Island
Names
The plant is typically referred to as koromiko in Māori. Other regional names include kōkoromiko, koromuka, kōkoromuka and korohiko.[3]
Uses
Koromiko is a commonly used plant in traditional Māorirongoā medicine, by chewing or boiling leaf buds, or applied in balms.[3] A sticky substance that is extruded from young leaf buds was traditionally mixed with blue pollen of Fuchsia excorticata for a form of make-up.[3] During the early European colonial era, koromiko leaves or extract was sold under names such as Monk's Herbal Extract as an antidiarrheal remedy.[3]
Other traditional uses included lining hāngī to impart a flavour to cooked meat, and using the twigs for fires to cook moa.[3]
Koromiko is a pioneer plant useful to plant as a nurse crop for revegetation planting.[citation needed]
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