Hebe speciosa
Encyclopedia
Hebe speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family
known by the common names New Zealand hebe, showy hebe, and showy-speedwell. It is native to New Zealand
but it can be found in other parts of the world where it is grown as an ornamental
for its showy flowers. This hebe is a shrub
reaching heights between one and two meters. Its evergreen leaves are dark green, shiny, and quite thick, usually measuring 2 to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is up to 8 centimeters long and densely packed with pale pink to bright magenta flowers. Each flower is just under a centimeter wide and has a short throat spreading into a four-lobed corolla. Two very long stamen
s protrude from the throat of each flower, giving the inflorescence a whiskery look. The fruit is a capsule containing flat, smooth seeds.
Plantaginaceae
Plantaginaceae Juss. or plantain family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales. The type genus is Plantago L..In older classifications it used to be the only family of the order Plantaginales, but numerous phylogenetic studies, summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have...
known by the common names New Zealand hebe, showy hebe, and showy-speedwell. It is native to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
but it can be found in other parts of the world where it is grown as an ornamental
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for its showy flowers. This hebe is a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
reaching heights between one and two meters. Its evergreen leaves are dark green, shiny, and quite thick, usually measuring 2 to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is up to 8 centimeters long and densely packed with pale pink to bright magenta flowers. Each flower is just under a centimeter wide and has a short throat spreading into a four-lobed corolla. Two very long stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s protrude from the throat of each flower, giving the inflorescence a whiskery look. The fruit is a capsule containing flat, smooth seeds.