Veronica (Heliohebe) mccaskilli syn. Veronica raoulii var. maccaskillii

Heliohebes are natives. A special species for the collector. Not available. See Lester Davey.

Named after Lancelot William McCaskill (1900–1985), soil conservationist and teacher at Lincoln College, Canterbury. Low shrub to 0.3 m tall. Stems prostrate to decumbent, almost divaricating. V. raoulii plants are very similar in having the anterior calyx lobes fused, but distinguished by their more open and ascending to erect habit, with at least some longer internodes 5–8 mm (consistently < 5 mm in V. maccaskillii), larger, obovate to spathulate and more acute to acuminate leaves with more and deeper teeth, and only four calyx lobes. These differences are mostly quantitative, the only qualitative one being the fifth calyx lobe often seen in V. maccaskillii. Norton & Molloy (2009) report both species grow together on Mt Cass, North Canterbury, without obvious hybrids, and this sympatric occurrence was the reason they promoted V. raoulii subsp. maccaskillii to species rank (as Heliohebe maccaskillii).