Hebe cupressoides ( Cockayne and Allan, 1927 )

Pole, Mike, 2022, A vanished ecosystem: Sophora microphylla (Kōwhai) dominated forest recorded in mid-late Holocene rock shelters in Central Otago, New Zealand, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 1) 25 (1), pp. 1-41 : 17

Hebe cupressoides ( Cockayne and Allan, 1927)

Figure 18

Material. Present in 32% of the shelters with dry vegetation. Shelter-006: LX5551; Shelter-007: LX3345; Shelter-008: LX3344; Shelter-017: SL 6617; Shelter-020: LX2946, LX2955, LX2957; Shelter-029: LX5800; Shelter-030: LX2469; Shelter-031: LX2952; Shelter-032: LX2982, LX2983; Shelter-034: LX2964; Shelter-039: LX5570; Shelter-042: LX2605; Shelter-043: LX2598; Shelter-046: LX2569; Shelter-047: LX3278; Shelter-050: LX2558; Shelter-060: LX3292; Shelter-062: LX3271; Shelter-063: SL 6526, SL 6527, SL 6528, SL 6530, SL 6531; Shelter-065: LX3311; Shelter-066: SL 6469; Shelter-070: LX2609; Shelter-074: LX2537; Shelter-075: LX2594; Shelter-077: LX2555; Shelter-078: SL 6473, SL 6476; Shelter-079: LX5862; Shelter-083: LX2453; Shelter-088: LX3291, LX3321, LX3322; Shelter-090: LX3265, LX3267; Shelter-100: LX2902; Shelter-101: LX2910; Shelter-110: LX3110; Shelter-111: LX5502; Shelter-114: LX5861.

Remarks. ‘Whipcord’ Hebe shoot fragments are frequently recovered in bulk samples exhibiting the characteristic scale-like leaves (about 2 mm long), arranged in opposite decussate pairs and with a ‘marginal frill’ of elongate cells around their apices. The cuticle has a pronounced ornamentation of dense ridges and stomata which have a general longitudinal alignment. This combination can identify smaller fragments.

Nine or 10 species of Hebe are recognized in New Zealand ( Wagstaff and Wardle, 1999; Bayly and Kellow, 2006), and Hebe is placed in Veronica by some workers ( Albach and Chase, 2001; Albach et al., 2004; Garnock-Jones et al., 2007). There seems to be no general agreement in New Zealand on this change, and the arguably more common usage of Hebe is followed here. Based on their small size and widely separated leaves ( Wagstaff and Wardle, 1999), and cuticle morphology, the specimens in this study are regarded as H. cupressoides .

Figures

FIGURE 18. Hebe cupressoides cuticle morphology (Transmitted light microscopy). A. Section of an intact stem with paired leaves (LX5392, Shelter-7, scale bar equals 1 mm). B. Detail of leaf pair on a stem (LX2569, Shelter-46, scale bar equals 1 mm). C. Two paired leaves illustrating the ‘marginal frill’ at the leaf apices (LX2569, Shelter-46, scale bar equals 1 mm). D. Cuticle showing generally aligned stomatal complexes on adaxial surface and an ornamentation of dense ridges (SL6473, Shelter-78, scale bar equals 100 μm). E. Detail of cuticle showing generally aligned stomatal complexes and an ornamentation of dense ridges (LX2558, Shelter-50, scale bar equals 40 μm).