Coprosma areolata
Common names
thin-leaved coprosma
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Common bushy tall shrub with pairs of small thin pointed leaves. Twigs hairy. Leaves thin, veins visible, tapering to both the sharp tip and leaf stalk, with small pit at junction of veins, in pairs with a small long-tipped scale between the base of the leaf stems. Fruit dark purple.
Flower colours
Green
Detailed description
Shrub or tree up to 3 (-5) m tall, leafy appearance. Branches slender, usually fastigiate, bark grey to fawn-grey; branchlets finely pubescent, pale fawn. Leaves yellow-green to brown-green, fascicled on short branchlets; petioles slender, finely pubescent to pilose, winged 3-7 mm long. Stipules small. obtuse, pubescent to pilose, with conspicuous sharp dark denticle. Lamina membranous, glabrous or nearly so above, sparsely pubescent below, broad-elliptic to obovate, acute to sub-acuminate, apiculate, cuneately narrowed to base, more or less 9-10 (-17) x 7-10 mm. Reticulated veins evident above and below. Flowers, dioecious, solitary or 2-4 together, terminal on short branchlets. Male flower without calyx; corolla broad-funnelform, lobes ovate, acute, more or less equal to tube. Female flower with minute calyx-teeth; corolla sub-campanulate, lobes more or less equal to tube. Drupe dark purple to almost black, globose, 4-5 mm diameter.
Similar taxa
Coprosma rotundifolia has rounder, hairier, thicker leaves lacking an obvious network of veins (often with purple blotches), and orange fruit.
C. tenuicaulis, which also has prominent vein networks and black round fruit, can be distinguished by a conspicuous terminal tuft of hairs on the stipule. The leaves are thicker in C. tenuicaulis and much less hairy, and the stems are long and slender between the leaf clusters.
C. virescens has leaves less obviously netted with veins, hairless leaf stalks, distinctively patterned bark on trunks and larger branches, usually 3 denticles at the tip of each stipule, and a yellowish white, oblong drupe.
Distribution
North, South and Stewart Islands.
Habitat
Lowland to lower montane 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.
- 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
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October-December
Fruiting
(November-) December-April
Life cycle and dispersal
Unlike many Coprosma spp. which may occasionally have hermaphrodite flowers present, this species is regarded as strictly dioecious. Fleshy drupes are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
coprosma: From the Greek kopros ‘dung’ and osme ‘smell’, referring to the foul smell of the species, literally ‘dung smell’
areolata: Netted, with a network pattern between the veins
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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.
COPARE
Chromosome number
2n = 44
Previous conservation statuses
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.
- 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.
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: TL
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. 1. Wellington: Government Printer. pg. 578-579, 587.
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 11: 285-309.
Wilson, H. D., & Galloway, T. 1993. Small-leaved shrubs of New Zealand. Manuka Press. pg. 86-87.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by M. Ward (8 December 2021). Description from Allan (1961), and Wilson & Galloway (1993).
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.