Alseuosmia pusilla
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Small shrub, inconspicuous unless in flower or fruit. Leaves glossy, often with a red margin and sometimes with a red-flecked surface. Flowers white, tubular, clustered, sweet smelling. Fruit red, fleshy, conspicuous.
Flower colours
Green, White
Distribution
Endemic. North Island from Te Moehau and Mt Pirongia south, mainly montane. South Island, in the west only from North-West Nelson to near Okarito
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Alseuosmiaceae
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle
Fleshy berries dispersed by fruigivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Can be grown from semi-hardwood cuttings though these strike with varying degrees of success. Seed is often hard to germinate. Prefers a semi-shaded site in a cool place with permanently damp soil. Slow growing and prone to sudden collapse during dry spells. However, next to A.macrophylla this is the easiest species to cultivate
Other information
Etymology
alseuosmia: Perfume grove
pusilla: Small
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
ALSPUS
Chromosome number
2n = 18
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2009 Vol. 11 No. 4 pp. 285-309