''Veronica obtusata'', the northern hebe, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

belonging to the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older cl ...

. It is native to northern

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and was first described by

Thomas Cheeseman Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (8 June 184515 October 1923) was a New Zealand botanist. He was also a naturalist who had wide-ranging interests, such that he even described a few species of sea slugs (marine gastropod molluscs). Biography Chees ...

in 1916.

Description

''Veronica obtusata'' is a sprawling shrub with paired dark green leaves. It looks similar to ''

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.Petrie (1926), In: Trans. & Proc. ...

'', however tends to grow smaller and does not share the maroon-green leaves of ''Veronica bishopiana''.

Taxonomy

The plant was first identified as ''Veronica macroura var. dubia'' by

in 1916, later recategorised as ''Hebe obtusata'' in 1926 by Cockayne & Allan. More recently, the plant was recategorised as a species of veronica.

Distribution

''Veronica bishopiana'' is naturally distributed in the coastal areas of the Waitākere Ranges of West Auckland, and the Kawhia and

Whaingaroa Whaingaroa may refer to: * Ngāpuhi / Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa, a Māori tribe * Raglan, New Zealand, a town in Waikato See also * Whangaroa, an area in Northland, New Zealand * Whangaroa Harbour Whangaroa Harbour (; ), previously spelled ...

harbours of the western Waikato region. The populations in the Kawhia Harbour are threatened. ''Veronica obtusata'' is typically found on steep slopes and banks, on cliff faces and rock stacks.

References

obtusata Endemic flora of New Zealand Plants described in 1916 Taxa named by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman {{Plantaginaceae-stub