Veronica stricta Banks & Sol. ex Benth. var. stricta

Stems brown to black when dry, glabrous to densely puberulent. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, 19–127 mm long, 5.5–45.0 mm wide; lamina thin to sub-coriaceous, usually puberulent to pubescent on midribs and margins, occasionally glabrous on midribs, rarely glabrous on margins. Calyx lobes pubescent (north of about Manawatu Gorge) or glabrous on faces, mixed glandular- and eglandular-ciliolate on margins; corolla tube ≥ lobes.

Veronica stricta var. stricta as circumscribed here is a variable complex of regional forms. Plants are large shrubs with glabrous to puberulent, rarely pubescent, stems, thin to sub-coriaceous leaves that are usually hairy along the midrib above and below and ciliolate along the margins.

Coastal plants throughout its range tend to have broader, more coriaceous leaves, often obovate. North of about Manawatu Gorge plants have hairs on the faces of the calyx lobes, whereas further south the calyx lobes are ciliolate on the margins only. Plants in Gisborne and East Cape tend to have very long inflorescences and may have glabrous stems.

In Coromandel and on Great Barrier I. (Aotea I.) some plants have longer hairs on the leaf midribs and margins and thus approach the appearance of V. pubescens. V. pubescens can usually be distinguished by having a small sinus in the leafy bud (but this is often obscured by dense hairs) and hairy corolla lobes (outside).

In the South Island, V. stricta var. stricta overlaps slightly in its distribution with the similar V. salicifolia. The most reliable distinction is the presence of a leaf bud sinus in V. salicifolia plants, absent in V. stricta plants.

Coastal to montane, usually in open sites: rock outcrops, banks, roadsides, scrub, forest clearings, slips, etc., and may be weedy in urban areas. Recorded elevations range from 0 to 1451 m.

It is likely that V. stricta hybridises with other species, which could explain some of its variability. Binomial names believed to be based on hybrids are listed below:

Veronica ×affinis (Cheeseman) Garn.-Jones, New Zealand Journal of Botany 46: 524 (2008) ≡ ​​​​​​​Veronica macrocarpa var. affinis Cheeseman, Manual of the New Zealand Flora: 505 (1906). ≡ Hebe ×affinis (Cheeseman) Cockayne & Allan, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 57: 20 (1926). The plants are considered to be V. macrocarpa × stricta. The illegitimate name Hebe ×macrosala also applies to this hybrid group (see Garnock-Jones 2008). Veronica macrocarpa × stricta (Garnock-Jones 2008).

Veronica ×carsei Petrie, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 55: 96 (1924, as V. carsei). ≡ Hebe carsei (Petrie) Cockayne, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 60: 469 (1929). = Hebe ×laevisala Cockayne & Allan, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 57: 46 (1926). Thought to be Veronica stricta var. stricta × V. venustula (Garnock-Jones 2008).

Veronica ×simmonsii Cockayne, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 48: 202 (1916). ≡ Hebe ×simmonsii (Cockayne) Cockayne & Allan, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 56: 20 (1926). = ​​​​​​​Hebe ×angustisala Cockayne & Allan, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 57: 46 (1926). Specimens are consistent with parentage (V. stenophylla × V. stricta var. atkinsonii) suggested in the protologue (Garnock-Jones 2008).

Flowers: January–July, extending to September; fruits: January–September, persisting all year.

2n = 40, 80 (see Bayly & Kellow 2006, as Hebe stricta var. stricta).

Previous treatments (Moore, in Allan 1961; Bayly & Kellow 2006) have recognised further varieties that here are included under var. stricta. The patterns of variation are more complex than reliance on a few characters, such as sepal indumentum (var. atkinsonii) and leaf width (var. macroura), would indicate.

Cultivars

Veronica ×andersonii Lindley & Paxton, Paxton’s Flower Garden 2: t. 38 (1851, as V. andersonii). ≡ Hebe ×andersonii (Lindl. & Paxton) Cockayne, Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 60: 468 (1929). Likely to be V. speciosa × stricta (Heenan 1994). Heenan (1994) clarified the origins and naming of several cultivars of V. ×andersonii (as Hebe ×andersonii).