Plants of
South Australia
Veronica hillebrandii
Plantaginaceae
Coast Speedwell,
Rigid Speedwell
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
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Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 3

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%.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

1,400 (0.42 g)
50+30-Nov-2006TST37
Yorke Peninsula
BGA1,100 (0.46 g)6011-Dec-2006DJD725
Kangaroo Island
1-Aug-2007100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.