Veronica bishopiana
{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Veronica bishopiana inflorescence.jpg
|parent = Veronica sect. Hebe
|genus = Veronica
|species = bishopiana
|authority = Petrie
|synonyms = *Veronica × bishopiana
- Hebe bishopiana
| range_map =Veronica bishopiana - map.svg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#008100|Known native range}}
}}
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.Petrie (1926), In: Trans. & Proc. N. Z. Inst. 56: 15
Description
File:Veronica × bishopiana in Auckland Botanic Gardens.jpg]]
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. The shrub has white and mauve-coloured flowers, with the mauve colour often only evident in the youngest buds of the plant.
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,{{Cite journal| issn = 0028-825X| volume = 34| issue = 2| pages = 187–194| last = De Lange| first = PJ| title = Hebe bishopiana (Scrophulariaceae)—an endemic species of the Waitakere ranges, west Auckland, New Zealand| journal = New Zealand Journal of Botany| date = 1996 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.1996.10410682| doi-access = free| bibcode = 1996NZJB...34..187D}} but has since been reclassified again as a species of Veronica.{{Cite journal| issn = 0028-825X| volume = 38| issue = 1| pages = 1–23| last1 = Dawson| first1 = Murray I| last2 = Beuzenberg| first2 = Ernst J| title = Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora—36. Miscellaneous families| journal = New Zealand Journal of Botany| date = 2000 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512671| s2cid = 84383638| doi-access = free| bibcode = 2000NZJB...38....1D}}
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.
Distribution
Veronica bishopiana is naturally distributed in the Waitakere Ecological District of the Waitākere Ranges of West Auckland. It typically occurs on stream sides, igneous rock outcrops and shaded cliff faces. Since 2007, specimens have also been found in the Tangihua Forest in Northland Region.{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_naturalsciences-object-698258 |title=Hebe bishopiana |publisher=Auckland War Memorial Museum |date=30 November 2010 |access-date=29 July 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_naturalsciences-object-681152 |title=Hebe bishopiana |publisher=Auckland War Memorial Museum |date=29 October 2009 |access-date=29 July 2022}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q17743487}}
Category:Endemic flora of New Zealand
Category:Plants described in 1926
Category:Endemic biota of the Auckland Region, New Zealand
Category:Flora of the North Island
{{Plantaginaceae-stub}}