Veronica salicifolia Narrow-leaved Hebe (Koromiko)

An evergreen, white flowered shrub that is often planted along roadsides and as hedging in industrial and retail parks. Some of its key features are the narrow, lanceolate leaves which have short stalks and the white (not blue, pink or purple) flowers that are usually produced in spring. Narrow-leaved Hebe is also one parent of a number of hybrids (e.g. Veronica x lewisii) that are also cultivated and planted in various places and some of these could be a source of confusion, but the status of these plants in the wild is not clear. It is a south temperate species with a quite disjunct distribution, occuring in Chile and New Zealand. It was first recorded wild in Britain in 1913 and now has a widespread but scattered distribution throughout. It produces lots of seed and is able to establish naturalised populations particularly in lowland and relatively frost-free locations; e.g. in coastal areas and then often on sea cliffs. In West Glamorgan there are several records from south Gower. 

Neophyte