Ceodes brunoniana
Past favourite plant finalist
Common names
Parapara
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Small tree with large oval leaves and long extremely sticky fruit inhabiting northern offshore islands and coastal forests. Leaves 10-50cm long. Flowers white, in wide-angled clusters. Fruit green ripening to almost black, 2.5-4cm long, stick to birds.
Flower colours
Green, White
Detailed description
Spreading, usually multi-trunked and freely coppicing tree rarely exceeding 8 x 2 m in height. Main trunk up to 800 mm dbh, clad in firm, grey-brown to green-brown bark, usually with numerous dormant epicormic buds present. Branches at first erect, then spreading, rather brittle. Leaves opposite or in whorls. Petioles up to 40 mm, stout, fleshy, red-green to green; lamina 100-600 × 50-200 mm, green, yellow-green, or dark-green suffused with red (new growth often pink), glabrous, oblong to obovate-oblong, obtuse, margins entire, sinuate, sometimes lobed. Inflorescence a many-flowered, terminal, paniculate cyme with subtending, deciduous, leaf-like bracts. Pedicels finely covered in red-brown pubescence, stout, fleshy up to 20 mm long. Flowers usually monoecious, up to 10 mm long, calyx funnelform, 5-lobed, usually plicately folded, perianth greenish-white to white, pubescent to glabrescent. Stamens 6-8, anthers scarcely exserted. Fruit a 5-ribbed, hardened, narrowly elliptic to elliptic perianth 25-40 mm long; ribs exuding an extremely viscid exudates. Achene usually narrowly oblong to oblong-elliptic usually 5-angled, 16-20 mm long, dark red-brown to brown.
Similar taxa
None
Distribution
Indigenous. Kermadecs (Raoul), Three Kings, North Island (mainly offshore islands) but known on the mainland in scattered locations from the Whangape Harbour to Mangawhai. Historical records show it was around Auckland, on the Coromandel Peninsula and at East Cape. Also present in the wider Pacific (Hawai‘i (Hawai‘i, Lana‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu), Rarotonga, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands).
Habitat
Coastal forest. Now mainly found on rodent-free offshore islands where it can be a very important component of the understorey of mixed-broadleaf forest.
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 | At Risk – Relict | Qualifiers: Inc, RC, TO
Threats
Within the mainland part of its range, Parapara is virtually extinct. Its large leaves are especially palatable to browsing animals such as possums, goats and other feral livestock. However the main threat to accessible mainland populations are those individuals who decide to cut down trees because the sticky fruit trap small passerines. On rodent-free offshore islands it is common but has declined on those supporting these vermin. As more northerly islands are being made rodent-free parapara is making a spectacular come back.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Nyctaginaceae
Synonyms
Pisonia brunoniana Endl., Pisonia sinclairii Hook.f., Heimerliodendron brunonianum (Endl.) Skottsb.
Taxonomic notes
Recently Rossetto & Caraballo-Ortiz (2020) have recircumscribed Pisonia and in the process reinstated Ceodes J.R. Forst. et G.Forst., and Rockia Heimerl using molecular and morphological evidence and this view is accepted here.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August - December
Fruiting
August - July
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed, tolerant of a wide range of soils types and moisture levels. In suitable conditions seedlings often appear under planted trees. Rather cold sensitive and best grown in the warmer northern parts of NZ. It usually grows in sheltered coastal forest as an understorey plant it is quite tolerant of exposed sunny conditions, and can make an interesting specimen tree. The large leaves and quick growth have made it quite popular with people looking for a tropical effect. The pale cream flowers are pleasantly and strongly scented at night. The sticky fruits can be a problem, and sometimes small birds get caught in them. It is best to remove these if you want to avoid the occasional bird capture. A variegated form of unknown origin is also available.
Other information
Extra information
Recently there has been a campaign initiated by members of various organisations to have parapara banned from sale and cultivation. This is on the grounds that the tree kills numerous birds and that it is not native to New Zealand. Scientific peer-reviewed studies and literature shows that bird captures do happen but hardly at the exaggerated levels promoted by its detractors. Parapara is also indigenous to New Zealand. The species is at risk throughout its natural world-wide range because of vandalism by people obsessed with its exaggerated bird-killer reputation. NZPCN would suggest that cultivation is a matter of informed decision. Nurseries stocking this plant should clearly label specimens with the warning that the fruits may catch small birds and insects. Gardeners who are concerned about catching birds can choose to cut spent flower heads before they develop into sticky seedheads.
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for April 2006 for the full story.
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.
CEOBRU
Chromosome number
2n = 136
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Relict | Qualifiers: TO
2012 | At Risk – Relict | Qualifiers: TO
2009 | At Risk – Relict | Qualifiers: TO
2004 | Sparse
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington
Rossetto, E.F.S.; Caraballo-Ortiz, M.A. 2020: Splitting the Pisonia birdcatcher trees: re-establishment of Ceodes and Rockia (Nyctaginaceae, Pisonieae). Phytokeys 152: 121–136.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 September 2004. Description modified from Allan (1961) supplemented with observations made from herbarium and fresh specimens.
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Ceodes brunoniana Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/ceodes-brunoniana/ (Date website was queried)