''Veronica bishopiana'', the Waitākere rock koromiko, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

belonging to the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

. It is native to West Auckland in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and was first described by

Donald Petrie Donald Mark Petrie (born April 2, 1954) is an American film director and actor. Life and career Petrie was born in New York City, New York (state), New York, the son of Dorothea G. Petrie, Dorothea (née Grundy), a television producer, actor, a ...

in 1926.Petrie (1926), In: Trans. & Proc. N. Z. Inst. 56: 15

Description

''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

in 1926, first described as a hybrid, ''Veronica × bishopiana''. It was transferred the genus '' Hebe'' in 1966 by ED Hatch, but has since been reclassified again as a species of '' Veronica''. The species was named for

Titirangi Titirangi is a suburb of West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland in the Waitākere Ranges (local board area), Waitākere Ranges local board area of the city of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is an affluent, residential suburb located t ...

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 The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...

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 Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...

References

bishopiana Endemic flora of New Zealand Plants described in 1926 Endemic biota of the Auckland Region, New Zealand Flora of the North Island Waitākere Ranges {{Plantaginaceae-stub