alpine and subalpine Plants from New Zealand

[Maggi Young]

Very  smart  plant, David.   It  surely deserves to be  long-lived!

[johnw]

I am looking for a bit of advice....What to do? Thanks to the seed exchange, I now have seedlings of Hebe epacridea. They are quite small at the moment, and I want to be sure I won't lose them over the winter. Should I sink the pot into the landscape, and hope for the best... or move them inside for the winter months, until they are a bit larger (plants are barely 2 cm tall). Any recommendations would be welcome!

Ethel Lohbrunner gave us this as H. epacridea, golden form.  It was hardy with friends who we gave it to, a good size and good drainage were mandatory. Never got a positive identification on it.  These whipcord ones are a nightmare to id.

john

[David Lyttle]

Hello John,

I can tell you for a start your plant is not H. epacridea It looks very much like Hebe odora (which sometimes is found circulating in the Nursery Trade as H. buxifolia). It is not strictly a whipcord species where the leaves are reduced to scales and appressed close to the branches.

I am not saying identification of whipcord Hebes is easy so here is a start. In general terms for non-whipcord species size and shape of the sinus (that is the little gap at the base of the paired leaves in the unopened bud) and the position and type of inflorescence ie lateral terminal or both provide important characters for identification purposes.

First Hebe odora - non-whipcord sinus is distinct, broad and shield-shaped; inflorescence is mainly terminal sometimes lateral as well. Sorry no pictures showing these features only foliage.


Next Hebe hectorii subsp hectorii - scale leaves broad and rounded at the apex (we wont go into the other subspecies unless some one really wants to know) Inflorescence is terminal.


Next Hebe lycopodioides - branches are square in cross-section scale leaves have a distinct sharp apiculus, veins visible on scale leaves. Inflorescence is terminal.


Not to be confused with Hebe poppelwellii - branches round in cross-section scale leaves show veins but do not have a distinct apiculus. Inflorescence is terminal.


Last Hebe propinqua - scale leaves rounded nodal joint prominent. Inflorescence is terminal.


The most common whipcord species in cultivation is perhaps Hebe armstrongii which is very rare in the wild so much so that I have never seen it. With species in cultivation all the original geographic location data that is useful for identification is lost and frequently only selections of the species that are atypical are grown.

The genus Hebe has been subsumed back into Veronica  so now all Hebe species are referred to as Veronica (POWO). Plant systematists make some rather arbitrary decisions at times. The term Pseudo (= false) veronica seems to be creeping back into the literature so if it was decided that now all Hebes are Veronicas it seems odd that the term Pseudoveronica has gained acceptance.

[GordonT]

David, assuming that the seedlings I grew from the SRGC Seed Exchange  actually are Hebe epacridea (sorry, just can't bring myself to adopt Veronica), I am wondering how to overwinter them here. The seedlings are still quite small (the tallest might be over 2.5 cm high). Temperatures here can drop to -20C overnight during the depths of winter. Should I sink the pot in the landscape, or keep it out of the elements? I don't want to lose these seedlings.  We do have Hebe odora, and Hebe pinguifolia pagei growing well here. Last winter was cold and windy enough to cause some significant windburn/dieback on Hebe odora.

[David Lyttle]

Hello Gordon,

Its a bit of a difficult question for me to answer. Moving them indoors to a cool, dry place might be the best option (as long as the potting mix does not dry out or freeze). In their natural environment Hebes are prone to cold damage so cooling them enough to promote dormancy would seem to me to be the best thing to do.

Hebe epacridea is an alpine species. It grows on coarse bouldery screes at 1400 -1500 m so would be covered with snow at times during winter but not necessarily for the entire winter.

Hebe odora is more a montane grassland species growing on damp sites (1200 m). It would receive some snow during winter but would not necessarily be completely covered.

Hebe epacridea


Hebe odora

[johnw]

David - Wonderful to get an identification on that Hebe.  Over the past 25 years it has had many names on it but H. odora seems spot on.

While on the subject here are two others.  The first is a mystery and photos 2 & 3 we labelled Hebe hectori, I think it too was identified here on the form; for years it was labelled H. lycopodioides and reached about 20-24 inches high, thankfully a friend was able to propagate it.  Your thoughts on these two would be appreciated.  johnw   

[David Lyttle]

Hello John,

Afraid I can not ID your fist photo with any certainty. There are many Hebe species with glaucous foliage and several cultivars. I would need to see a close up picture of the bud showing the sinus and a picture of the inflorescence to show whether it was axillary or terminal.

We can probably arrive at a definitive ID of your whipcord plant; Does the scale leaf have a prominent apiculus (point) if so look at the leaf more closely (use a lens if you have one). If you can see ridges (leaf veins) then it is Hebe lycopodioides . If the scale leaf is uniformly smooth over its surface then it is Hebe hectorii. If you look back at the pictures I posted you can see these details and compare them with your plant.

Both Hebes look well grown and very healthy. The climate where you are must suit them. Hope this is helpful . -  David

[johnw]

Hello John,

We can probably arrive at a definitive ID of your whipcord plant; Does the scale leaf have a prominent apiculus (point) if so look at the leaf more closely (use a lens if you have one). If you can see ridges (leaf veins) then it is Hebe lycopodioides . If the scale leaf is uniformly smooth over its surface then it is Hebe hectorii. If you look back at the pictures I posted you can see these details and compare them with your plant.

Both Hebes look well grown and very healthy. The climate where you are must suit them. Hope this is helpful . -  David

David

My friend has not been able to walk to the plant in question. Today she was able to get outdoors and says "Just looked very carefully at my Hebe and there are no ridges and there is no prominent point so I conclude it is H. hectorii."  I'd bet it was you that identified the same plant years ago on this Forum.  Thanks so much.

john

[David Lyttle]

Greetings to all my SRGC Forum friends. Here is a new years special for Thomas

Leucogenes grandiceps



and Leucogenes grandiceps growing over a rock outcrop. No flowers  on the second one yet as the snowbank covering it has only recently melted



I have a large number of images to catalogue and organise so will post a few some time in the future.

[Maggi Young]

A good  new  year to you, too, David!

[Leucogenes]

Greetings to all my SRGC Forum friends. Here is a new years special for Thomas

Leucogenes grandiceps

(Attachment Link)

and Leucogenes grandiceps growing over a rock outcrop. No flowers  on the second one yet as the snowbank covering it has only recently melted

(Attachment Link)

I have a large number of images to catalogue and organise so will post a few some time in the future.

Hello, David,


what a great joy for me that you thought of me in this context.
Your photos of Leucogenes grandiceps are "food" for my obsession...;-)

My last copy died last fall... but I will try to find new plants. But there's also some good news... some of the NZ Seeds that were sown are already starting to germinate... ...mostly Celmisia.

I look forward to seeing more pictures from your field trips.

Cheers
Thomas

[David Lyttle]

I am planning to post some photos of some of the plants I saw on a recent trip to the Old Woman Range. It is a bit off the beaten track but it is adjacent the Old Man Range on the other side of the Fraser Basin. Some of you may have visited the Old Man Range which is well known for its alpine plants and its wind.
The Old Woman range does not have any tors on its crest probably because they were removed by ice; it has almost certainly has had an icecap in the past.

Tent Camp on Old Woman Range at 1600 m. You can see a large snowbank still lying up against a schist scarp.



View across the Fraser Basin to the top of the Old Man Range You can see the Old Man Rock and the communications tower on the top.



The next three images form a panorama showing the crest of the Old Woman Range. There is a line of scarps just below the crest formed by glacial action. In the third photo of the panorama you are looking across to the end of the Pisa Range in the distance which follows the Clutha Valley between the towns of  Cromwell and Wanaka.

[David Lyttle]

The straight ridge running from the right to centre of the next photo is a moraine. The ice came down from the left and created a shallow trough as it melted.



This little tarn was left hanging by the retreating ice. There would have been a icefall descending into the valley beyond the tarn.



Another view of the tarn.



The ice would have descended into this valley and smoothed off the sides as it descended. The sides have subsequently collapsed leaving the huge piles of boulders you can see below the bluffs.



Next photo shows view looking down from the top to where the valley abruptly descends into the basin below.

[David Lyttle]

Tarns and alpine wetlands on top of the Range.



A large tarn with a spectacular view.



Snow banks still persisting into the summer.



Cushion field vegetation



Cushion field vegetation dominated by Dracophyllum muscoides which you can see here in flower.

[Gabriela]

Beautiful pictures showing some impressive mountain scenery David!
Is there snow lingering at this altitude all the time? In the Northern Hemisphere these would be images of late July/August, but remnant snow is not always guaranteed, especially below 2000 m.