Veronica jovellanoides

Veronica jovellanoides is a creeping plant which grows into a mat 2 to 3 m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) across. It has 2 m (6.6 ft) long red-brown decumbent stems which are covered in many tiny hairs and grow roots at nodes spaced 5 to 30 mm (0.20 to 1.2 in) apart. Although it can cover a large area, it grows prostrate and only reaches a height of 5 centimetres (2.0 in). It has 3.5 to 11 mm (0.14 to 0.43 in) by 4.5 to 12 mm (0.18 to 0.47 in) spatula-shaped leaves which are green on top and a paler green below. The leaves may also grow on top of one another, have reddish margins, and are suspended from 2 to 10 mm long very hairy petioles. In addition to this, the leaves are hairy and toothed; with three to five pairs of teeth on each side.[1][2][5]

Flowering occurs from October to December and produces a white flower which has a four-lobed corolla (four petals) and a purple ring around its throat; the ring serving as a nectar guide for pollinators. The flower is 10 to 12 mm (0.39 to 0.47 in) in diameter and the throat is a yellow-green colour. Each inflorescence is made up of up to seven flowers growing off of a raceme-like structure made of a 15-to-25 mm (0.59-to-0.98 in) long peduncle and a 20 to 30 mm (0.79 to 1.2 in) rachis. Pollen is given out by a stamen made of a 4.0-to-4.5 mm (0.16-to-0.18 in) long filament and a 0.8 to 1.0 mm long pink anther, the pollination of which is encouraged by a glabrous nectarial disk.[2][5]

Fruiting is from December to February, yielding pale brown 1.2 to 1.8 mm by 1 to 1.4 mm seeds. The 3.2 to 6.0 mm (0.13 to 0.24 in) by 3.5 to 5.5 mm (0.14 to 0.22 in) pale brown capsules split open on wetting, revealing the similarly-coloured and deeply flattened seed. There are six to ten seeds per locule, within the 0.6 to 0.8 mm long glabrous ovary. V. jovellanoides has 20 pairs of chromosomes.[2][5]

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  Leaves
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  A close up of the flower.
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  Seeds

The growth habit

V. jovellanoides is endemic to New Zealand and occurs only (as of 2009) in the upper North Island[2] in the Ernest Morgan Reserve northwest of Auckland. The 20 ha (49-acre) reserve was formed in 1985 when the land was bought from the landowners by a combination of the NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust, the Auckland Regional Authority and the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (who were chosen to administer it).[7][12][9]

There are only three plants known in the wild, all within an area of 6 m² (7.2 sq yd) just 35 m (38 yd) above sea level, growing on a shaded and damp clay bank among ferns, mosses and liverworts.[2][5] The reserve has the Ararimu Stream running through its southern boundary which was used by Māori as a portage route between the Waitemata and Kaipara harbours. It contains a variety of forest types, such as riparian podocarp forest and successional forest, as well as having several other relatively rare plants. Larger trees include: Dacrycarpus dacrydioides (Kahikatea), Prumnopitys taxifolia (Mataī), and Podocarpus totara var. totara, while Kunzea aff. ericoides (Kānuka) dominates the successional forest. Other species include Phyllocladus trichomanoides (Tanekaha) and some juvenile Agathis australis (Kauri).[9][5]

The three known wild specimens grow in association with Uncinia banksii, U. uncinata, Nertera dichondrifolia, Clematis paniculata, Parsonsia heterophylla, Monoclea forsteril, Leiomitria lanata and Freycinetia banksii. A large number of lichens and bryophytes were also found in the area including: Achrophyllum dentatum, Balantiopsis diplophylla, Bazzania adnexa, Heteroscyphus cunestipulis, Lembidium nutans, Leiomitria lanata, Monoclea forsteri, Paracromastigium furcifolium, Pendulothecium auriculatum, Pyrrhobryum bifarium, Pseudocyphellaria dissimilis, P. multifida, Trichocolea mollisima, and Sticta lacera.[5]

V. jovellanoides is easily grown from both rooted pieces and stem cuttings, but growing from seed has not been tested as of 2009. Plants grown in Wellington have been observed to be very susceptible to a powdery mildew, though at Davidson's nursery in Auckland, where other nearby plants were being affected by a mildew, V. jovellanoides was not. In late summer (February in New Zealand) and autumn (March to May) it has been recorded dying back and becoming more difficult to maintain generally.[5] It grows best in a sunny spot with only a small amount of shade and through some scoria pebbles or a similarly gritty material.[13]