Flora of New Zealand Series

Veronica pimeleoides Hook. f. Fl. N.Z. 1, 1854, 195.

Type locality: Port Cooper. Type: K, Lyall.

Small shrub 6-30-(45) cm. tall. Lfy twigs decumbent or erect, little-to much-branched, branchlets often dark-coloured. Lvs erecto-patent, narrow-lanceolate to broad-obovate, 5-15 × 2-6 mm., us. rather uniform on one plant, thickish, ± glaucous, sts red-edged; lf-pair diverging early in bud, without obvious sinus; lamina subacute, entire, glab. except for minute hairs on margin of gradually narrowing lf-base, smooth and slightly concave; midrib only slightly prominent beneath. Infls lateral, simple, slender, > lvs and often overtopping vegetative tip. Peduncle us. c. = lvs, ± hairy-pubescent. Fls in pairs, between which the very hairy rhachis is us. visible; pedicels absent or very short and hidden by ± keeled, ovate, acute, ciliate, ± fleshy bracts 2.5-4 mm. long. Calyx-lobes = or slightly > bracts, very similar to them but sts with surface hairs towards base. Corolla us. blue to purple, tube < calyx, lobes widespreading, c. 3-4 mm. long. Capsule erect, c. 4 × 2 mm., pointed, slightly didymous.

DIST.: S. Drier mountains from Marlborough southwards.

FL. 11-3.

Hooker described this as "a remarkably distinct little species". Though it is not easily confused with any other it displays a puzzling range of forms, the main differences being in habit, size and shape of lvs, colour, thickness and pubescence of branchlets, size and colour of fls, and shape and pubescence of ovary. Many specimens do not precisely match any described var.

The type material at K consists of two twigs, one with fl., one with fr., agreeing with Hooker's description "Stems woody, scarred, covered with white down. Leaves 1/4 inch long, broadly obovate, nearly sessile . . ." The almost straight stout stems of c. 2 mm. diam. and up to 18 cm. long, and the close-set lvs suggest an erect plant growing in full light, but the lvs averaging c. 6 × 4 mm. are larger or at least proportionately broader than in most plants from open country in Canterbury. Calyx-lobes are c. 4 × 2 mm., fringed except near tip, corolla-lobes c. 3 × 2 mm., and style and ovary apparently glab. Armstrong (T.N.Z.I. 12, 1880, 342) does not record the sp. from Banks Peninsula and no recent specimens from near the type locality have been seen.

Var. minor (Hook. f.) Ckn. et Allan in T.N.Z.I. 57, 1926, 38.  V. pimeleoides var. minor Hook. f. Handbk N.Z. Fl. 1867, 738. Hooker's description is: "Smaller, leaves lanceolate, acute, 1/6 in. long. Middle Island: Shingle beds near Lake Heron, Haast". The type at K has hairy-pubescent branchlets < 1 mm. diam., short internodes and lvs c. 5 × 2 mm. This matches plants from very exposed sites in Canterbury; any part of such a plant receiving more shelter would be expected to have larger lvs and longer but still slender internodes. Small-lvd plants often have decumbent branches with ∞ adventitious roots on their woody basal parts.

Var. glauco-caerulea (J. B. Armst.) Ckn. et Allan loc. cit.  Veronica glauca-caerulea J. B. Armst. in N.Z. Ctry J. 3, 1879, 57 (spelling altered by Armstrong to glauco-caerulea in T.N.Z.I. 13, 1881, 350 and 353). Hebe glauca-caerulea Ckn. in T.N.Z.I. 60, 1929, 471. Specimens on four sheets in CM labelled by Armstrong show the following characters: branches ± erect, branchlets stout, hairy-pubescent; length of internodes < or = lvs; lvs 6-11 × 3·5-7 mm., broad-elliptic, glaucous; corolla-lobes us. < 4 mm. long; style, ovary and capsule glab. Localities are: "Upper Rangitata, J. F. A. 1869" (type); "Mt. Arrowsmith, J. F. A. 1869"; "Upper Rakaia, J. B. A. 1868"; "Rakaia, J. B. A. Fls blue". No other specimens from the wild have been seen but there are matching specimens from gardens in Christchurch and elsewhere in several herbaria.

A series of Armstrong specimens differ from those labelled glauco-caerulea in the following respects: branches ascending, branchlets slender, almost or quite glab.; internodes us. long and conspicuously dark; lvs narrow-elliptic, c. 7-8 × 2.5-3·5 mm., glaucous with purplish margins; calyx drying very dark, the fringing white cilia noticeable; corolla dark purplish, the largest lobe c. 4 × 3 mm. when dry, rounded; style, ovary and capsule pubescent. Armstrong localities are: Rangitata Valley, Mt. Arrowsmith and Arthur Pass-the last rather improbable. Similar plants were collected near Lake Tekapo by Cheeseman, and also by Wall who considered them identical with glauco-ca erulea. Specimens show that this form was growing in Christchurch Botanical Gardens as late as 1919, probably descendants from Armstrong's plants.

Var. rupestris Ckn. et Allan in T.N.Z.I. 57, 1926, 39. Branches semi-erect, to 45 cm. tall; branchlets stout, glab., dark, internodes us. < lvs; lvs c. 8-10-15 × 4-5-7 mm. (8 × 4 mm. in type), broad-elliptic to subrotund, glaucous; peduncles inclined to be glab.; corolla pale, largest lobes c. 4 × 3 mm. when dry; style, ovary and capsule pubescent. "Common in Central Otago . . . it always grows in rocks". Lectotype: A, 611, "Dunstan Mts on rock at about 1800 ft. alt., L. Cockayne No. 8184".