Alseuosmia quercifolia
Common names
oak-leaved toropapa, toropapa, karapapa
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Shrub with glossy, variable lobed leaves (or sometime long and thin) that are pale beneath and on reddish twigs. Flowers pinkish, tubular, drooping, sweet-smelling, clustered at base of leaves. Fruit small, red, fleshy.
Flower colours
Cream, Red/Pink
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (from Te Paki to near Awakino in the west, and in the east present to about Thames and the lower Hauraki Plains, with a few old records from East Cape).
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
Threats
Not Threatened but often uncommon and sparse in the southern part of its range
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Alseuosmiaceae
Synonyms
Alseuosmia ilex A.Cunn, A. xquercifolia A.Cunn.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Fleshy berries dispersed by fruigivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Very easy from cuttings, slow growing but easy to maintain if kept in pots, but usualy tricky to plant out. Does best planted in partial shade in rich soil with a damp root run. However often prone to sudden collapse.
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for August 2014 for the full story.
Etymology
alseuosmia: Perfume grove
quercifolia: Oak leaved
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.
ALSQUE
Chromosome number
2n = 18
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DP
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Thorsen MJ, Dickinson KJM, Seddon PJ. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2009.06.001.