Quick Dips

Heaps of Hebes

If you've ever had problems telling one hebe from another, an interactive computer database of the country's largest group of flowering plants may well be the thing for you.

A team led by Patrick Brownsey of the Museum of New Zealand is collating descriptions of the more than 100 species of hebe currently identified, to provide an identification key for for the plants.

"In particular, we are developing an illustrated interactive computer key that will be available on CD-ROM. Unlike traditional printed identification keys that rely on following a set format, the interactive key is much more versatile and allows users to choose their own characteristics in determining the identification of the species," says Brownsey.

This means that if a plant is not in flower, it can be identified purely by the leaf or other part of the plant. Such interactive keys have not been developed previously in New Zealand, but are at the leading edge of plant classification in other parts of the world.

Hebes are confined almost entirely to New Zealand, with only three species known offshore -- a New Zealand icon, much loved by botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists, and used by Maori for medicinal purposes. They are distributed throughout the country, but are particularly common in alpine areas and in lowland areas, especially along waterways. Some of the species are rare or threatened in the wild and several have still not been formally described. Eventually, a comprehensive book describing and illustrating all the species found in New Zealand will be published.

Meanwhile, researchers from Industrial Research Ltd are working with the Museum of New Zealand on hebe leaf chemistry to help with classification. Another collaborator is Dr Bill Malcolm, one of New Zealand's leading plant photographers.