Veronica × bidwillii Hook.

A natural hybrid between V. decora and V. lyallii, which occurs occasionally in South Island. Specimens of this hybrid were collected by Bidwill in the valley of the Wairau river and from them the elder Hooker described Veronica bidwillii as a species in 1852. Until Miss Ashwin established the true nature of these plants, V. decora (see above) was confused with this hybrid, though the two are really very distinct. In V. × bidwillii the influence of the other parent V. lyallii shows in the larger leaves, with often two pairs of lobules, and the shorter peduncles (up to 21⁄2 in. on the type specimens, against up to almost twice that in V. decora.) It is not certain whether V. × bidwillii is in cultivation. The plants grown under the name Veronica bidwillii seem to have been either V. decora or V. lyallii.