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  4. Coprosma rotundifolia

Coprosma rotundifolia

Atiwhakatu Valley, Tararua Forest Park.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 02/02/2008, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Mataroa, Taihape, February.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Mataroa, Taihape, February.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Atiwhakatu Valley, Tararua Forest Park.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 02/02/2008, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Fruit of Coprosma rotundifolia.<br>Photographer: Wayne Bennett, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Fruit of Coprosma rotundifolia.<br>Photographer: Wayne Bennett, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Stronvar, eastern Wairarapa.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 10/10/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Staminate flowers. Stronvar, eastern Wairarapa.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 10/10/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Progress Valley, Catlins (leaf detail).<br>Photographer: Jesse Bythell, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Progress Valley, Catlins (stipule detail).<br>Photographer: Jesse Bythell, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Dunedin, in fruit.<br>Photographer: John Barkla, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Lake Rotoroa, Nelson Lakes National Park.<br>Photographer: John Sawyer, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Female flower, in cultivation.<br>Photographer: Bill Clarkson, Date taken: 31/08/2013, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Typically purple-blotched leaves in sunny site; Paengaroa SR, Mataroa near Taihape.<br>Photographer: Colin C. Ogle, Date taken: 15/01/2017, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Stipule. Kaitoke Regional Park, Upper Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 10/09/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Staminate flowers. Stronvar, eastern Wairarapa.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 10/10/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Adaxial surface of leaf. Te Marua, Upper Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 26/01/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
Abaxial surface of leaf showing domatia in axils of primary veins and midrib. Te Marua, Upper Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 26/01/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>.
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Synonyms

Coprosma rufescens Colenso

Family

Rubiaceae

Authority

Coprosma rotundifolia A.Cunn.

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

No

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons

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.

COPROT

Chromosome number

2n = 44

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.

2012 | Not Threatened

Previous conservation statuses

2009 | Not Threatened

2004 | Not Threatened

Brief description

Large bushy shrub with wide-angled twigs bearing pairs of small rounded slightly hairy and often purple-blotched leaves. Leaves 15-25mm long x 10-20mm wide, covered in small hairs, rapidly tapering to a sharp tip. Fruit orange or red on very short stalks.

Distribution

Endemic. North, South and Stewart Islands from about Kaitaia south

Habitat

Lowland to montane. Usually in riparian forest and shrubland, especially on alluvial soils or those derived from calcareous parent materials.

Features

Rather slender shrub or tree up to 2-5 m tall; branches spreading to divaricate; branchlets pubescent to villous. Leaves on villous petioles 3-8 mm. long. Stipules obtuse, oblong, sheathing, pubescent to villous, usually with 1 denticle. Lamina membranous, hairy, especially on margins, dull green, red or red-green, often blotched brown, obtuse, sometimes apiculate, rounded to truncate to subcordate at base (usually on same plant): 15-25 × 10-20 mm. Reticulations of veins evident on both surfaces. Flowers in axillary clusters of 2-4. Male without calyx; corolla funnelform to subcampanulate, lobes ovate, acute, > tube. Female with more or less pubescent minutely toothed calyx; corolla tubular, lobes triangular, 4-5 mm long, subacute, sparsely hairy. Drupe red or white, depressed-globose, sometimes didymous, 4-5 mm diameter.

Similar taxa

Coprosma rotundifolia is superficially similar to and most often confused with C. rubra. Coprosma rubra differs from the much more widespread C. rotunidfolia by its smaller leaves (10-18 x 6-13 mm cf. 15-25 x 10-20 mm in C. rotundifolia, female flowers whose calyces have conspicuous linear rather than inconspicuous minute teeth, and oblong, yellowish-white to white rather than red or white globose drupes. Both species may be found growing together.

Flowering

September - November

Fruiting

September - August

Life cycle

Fleshy drupes are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Propagation technique

Easy from fresh seed and semi-hardwood cuttings. An attractive shrub to small tree that does well in dappled light. Should be planted in a free draining but moist, fertile soil.

Etymology

coprosma: From the Greek kopros ‘dung’ and osme ‘smell’, referring to the foul smell of the species, literally ‘dung smell’

rotundifolia: Round leaf; from the Latin rotundus and folium

Attribution

Description adapted from Allan (1961)

References and further reading

Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Government Printer, Wellington.

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

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