Classification
Class
Magnoliopsida Brongn.
Order
Lamiales Bromhead
Family
Plantaginaceae Juss.
Genus
Veronica L.
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata (Cheeseman) Garn.-Jones in Garnock-Jones et al., Taxon 56: 577 (2007)
Synonymy:
  • ≡ Veronica coarctata Cheeseman, Man. New Zealand Fl. 531 (1906) pro parte
  • ≡ Hebe coarctata (Cheeseman) Cockayne & Allan, Trans. New Zealand Inst. 57: 40 (1926)
  • ≡ Leonohebe coarctata (Cheeseman) Heads, Bot. Soc. Otago Newsl. 5: 8 (1987)
  • ≡ Hebe hectorii subsp. coarctata (Cheeseman) Wagstaff & Wardle, New Zealand J. Bot. 37: 33 (1999)
Lectotype (designated by Ashwin, in Allan 1961): Mt Arthur Plateau, Nelson, 4000 ft, T. F. C[heeseman], Jan 1886, AK 8233
Etymology:
Coarctatus means crowded, presumably a reference to the leaves.
Vernacular Name(s):
whipcord hebe
 Description

Leaves longer than to about as long as broad, mostly 1.2–2.0 mm, occasionally to 2.7 mm long; apex sub-acute to rounded.

 Distribution

South Island: Western Nelson, Sounds Nelson (south-western mountains), Westland (north of Mt Stevenson, Paparoa Range).

Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata distribution map based on databased records at AK, CHR & WELT. Image: K.Boardman © Landcare Research 2022 CC-BY 4.0
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata distribution map based on databased records at AK, CHR & WELT. Image: K.Boardman © Landcare Research 2022 CC-BY 4.0
 Habitat

Penalpine and alpine grassland and sub-alpine shrubland. Recorded elevations range from 900 to 1736 m.

 Biostatus
Indigenous (Endemic)
 Cytology

2n = 40 (Bayly & Kellow 2006, as Hebe hectorii subsp. coarctata).

 Notes

Some populations (e.g., at Cobb Ridge near Lake Peel, Nelson) appear to be sexually dimorphic, with about half the plants setting seed and these having small, empty anthers.

 Images
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Habit. Mt Robert, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Habit. Mt Robert, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Flowering branches. Mt Robert, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Flowering branches. Mt Robert, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Flowering branches. Cobb Valley, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Flowering branches. Cobb Valley, Nelson. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Sprig. Scale = 10 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Sprig. Scale = 10 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Branchlet. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Branchlet. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Close-up of leaves with evident nodal joints. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Close-up of leaves with evident nodal joints. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Terminal inflorescence of opposite sessile bisexual flowers. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Terminal inflorescence of opposite sessile bisexual flowers. Scale = 1 mm. Image: W.M. Malcolm © Te Papa CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. An opposite pair of female flowers, with small pale empty anthers. Scale = 1 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. An opposite pair of female flowers, with small pale empty anthers. Scale = 1 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Ripening capsule. Scale = 1 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
Veronica hectorii subsp. coarctata. Ripening capsule. Scale = 1 mm. Image: P.J. Garnock-Jones © P.J. Garnock-Jones CC-BY-NC 3.0 NZ
 Bibliography
Bayly, M.J.; Kellow, A.V. 2006: An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes. Te Papa Press, Wellington.
Cheeseman, T.F. 1906: Manual of the New Zealand Flora. Government Printer, Wellington.
Cockayne, L.; Allan, H.H. 1926: The present taxonomic status of the New Zealand species of Hebe. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 57: 11–47.
de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Barkla J.W.; Courtney, S.P.; Champion, P.D.; Perrie, L.R.; Beadel, S.N.; Ford, K.A.; Breitwieser, I.; Schönberger, I.; Hindmarsh-Walls, R.; Heenan, P.B.; Ladley, K. 2018: Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series. No. 22. [Not Threatened]
de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Champion, P.D.; Courtney, S.P.; Heenan, P.B.; Barkla, J.W.; Cameron, E.K.; Norton, D.A.; Hitchmough, R.A. 2013: Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 3. Department of Conservation, Wellington. [as Hebe hectorii subsp. coarctata (Cheeseman) Wagstaff & Wardle] [Not Threatened]
Garnock-Jones, P.J. 2023: Veronica. In: Breitwieser, I. (ed.) Flora of New Zealand – Seed Plants. Fascicle 9. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln.
Garnock-Jones, P.J.; Albach, D.; Briggs, B.G. 2007: Botanical names in Southern Hemisphere Veronica (Plantaginaceae): sect. Detzneria, sect. Hebe, and sect. Labiatoides. Taxon 56: 571–582.
Heads, M. 1987: New names in New Zealand Scrophulariaceae. Botanical Society of Otago Newsletter 5: 4–11.
Wagstaff, S.J.; Wardle, P. 1999: Whipcord Hebes - systematics, distribution, ecology and evolution. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37(1): 17–39.