Veronica jovellanoides

Veronica jovellanoides

Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Veronica
Species:
V. jovellanoides
Binomial name
Veronica jovellanoides
Garn.-Jones & de Lange
  Known native range
Synonyms
  • Parahebe jovellanoides (Garn.-Jones & de Lange) de Lange

Veronica jovellanoides, commonly known as Riverhead speedwell, is a threatened flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, where only three plants are known in the wild. All are found within the Ernest Morgan Reserve, a 20 ha forest northwest of Auckland. Its discovery is accredited to a retired plant nursery owner, Geoff Davidson, who organised the land's protection a few decades prior, and found it by chance on a walk in November 2007.

V. jovellanoides has a prostrate growth habit, forming large 2 to 3 m (6.6 to 9.8 ft) mats on the ground, and long stems with small, spatula-shaped leaves. Flowering begins in spring (September to November in New Zealand), producing small four-petalled white flowers which have a purple ring around their throats; the inner and centre-most section of the flower. Once pollinated, these become small brown seeds which are dispersed by the wind.