Hebbe spp.

Hebe spp.

Location: Longford Park, Manchester. Hebe is a genus of dense evergreen shrubs with simple paired leaves that grow opposite each other and create remarkable geometric patterns this way. They are commonly used as boundary defining plants and are generally disease and pest free which is another reason why it's often used in urban areas such as roads, car parks and public walkways.

This species is called Hebe rakaiensis commonly known as 'Rakai hebe'. It's dense growth give it a bushy characteristic.

The leaf bud is shown at the top of the main shoot ready to split into two leaves, a lateral shoot can be seen growing out of the main one to helping create the dense bush.

The stems narrow, dark brown and bumpy.