Veronica bishopiana

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.[1]

Veronica bishopiana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Section: Veronica sect. Hebe
Species:
V. bishopiana
Binomial name
Veronica bishopiana
Synonyms
  • Veronica × bishopiana
  • Hebe bishopiana

Description
Leaves of Veronica bishopiana growing at the Auckland Botanic Gardens

Veronica bishopiana is a low spreading shrub that grows up to one metre tall. While similar to Veronica obtusata in appearance, Veronica bishopiana tends to be larger, and has distinctive maroon-green leaves.[2] The shrub has white and mauve-coloured flowers, with the mauve colour often only evident in the youngest buds of the plant.[2]

Taxonomy

It was named by Donald Petrie in 1926, first described as a hybrid, Veronica × bishopiana. It was transferred the genus Hebe in 1966 by ED Hatch,[2] but has since been reclassified again as a species of veronica.[3]

The species was named for Titirangi resident John Joseph Bishop, who first recognised Veronica bishopiana as a distinct species and cultivated it at his home, providing plant material for Petrie to study.[2]

Distribution

Veronica bishopiana is naturally distributed in the Waitakere Ecological District of the Waitākere Ranges of West Auckland.[2] It typically occurs on stream sides, igneous rock outcrops and shaded cliff faces.[2] Since 2007, specimens have also been found in the Tangihua Forest in Northland Region.[4][5]

References
  1. Petrie (1926), In: Trans. & Proc. N. Z. Inst. 56: 15
  2. De Lange, PJ (1996). "Hebe bishopiana (Scrophulariaceae)—an endemic species of the Waitakere ranges, west Auckland, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 34 (2): 187–194. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1996.10410682. ISSN 0028-825X.
  3. Dawson, Murray I; Beuzenberg, Ernst J (2000). "Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora—36. Miscellaneous families". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 38 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512671. ISSN 0028-825X. S2CID 84383638.
  4. "Hebe bishopiana". Auckland War Memorial Museum. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  5. "Hebe bishopiana". Auckland War Memorial Museum. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2022.


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