Botanical art
Prior names
Veronica distans
Common names
Coast Speedwell
Rigid Speedwell
Etymology
Veronica possibly named after Saint Veronica, a nun who died in Milan in 1497. Alternatively from the Latin 'vera' and 'icon' meaning true image. This is in reference to the legend of the miraculous imprint of the face of Christ on a headcloth that Saint Veronica offered Christ on his way to crucifixion. Hillebrandii named after William Hilleband (1821 - 1886), a German physician and botanist who visited South Australia for 6 months in 1849 and made a few collections from near the mouth of the River Murray and Lake Alexandrina, and in the vicinity of Reedy Creek.
Distribution and status
Found on the lower Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas, Kangaroo Island and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, growing on calcareous sands, shallow on exposed coastal cliff tops or on dunes and in sclerophyllous shrubland. Also found in Victoria. Native. Uncommon in South Australia. Very rare in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Stoloniferous perennial herb with decumbent to scandent branches and rooting at lower nodes, to 35 cm long, with retrorse to spreading hairs to c. 0.5 mm long, in 2 rows or all around. Leaves ovate to 30 mm long and 17 mm wide, apex acute to obtuse, base truncate to cuneate, margins with 3�7 pairs of coarse teeth, rarely entire. Flower-spike in upper axils, to 12 cm long, with 4�10 blue flowers. Fruits are flat heart-shaped capsules turning from green to brown as it matures. Each capsule contains a few seeds. Seeds are small semi-flat orange-brown ovoid seed to 1.5 mm long and 0.8 mm wide with a wrinked surface. Seed embryo type is linear under-developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between January and March. Collect maturing capsules when drying off and turning red-brown with orange-brown seeds inside. Place the capsules in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for 1 to 2 weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate any unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSB | 1,400 (0.42 g) | 50+ | 30-Nov-2006 | TST37 Yorke Peninsula | |||
BGA | 1,100 (0.46 g) | 60 | 11-Dec-2006 | DJD725 Kangaroo Island | 1-Aug-2007 | 100% | -18°C |