New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
  • Member login
  • Join
Facebook
  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
    • Non Vascular
    • Plant identification
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
    • Pest Animals
    • Other threats
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
    • Training
    • Restoration
    • Monitoring
    • Habitat protection
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
    • David Given Scholarship
    • Members
    • Council members
    • Awards
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us

Search flora

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Flora
  3. Flora species
  4. Dodonaea viscosa

Dodonaea viscosa

Fruit. Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 25/03/2017, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Coromandel, November.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Coromandel, November.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Photo of Akeake.<br>Photographer: Wayne Bennett, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Close up of seed and leaf of akeake.<br>Photographer: Wayne Bennett, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Staminate flowers. In cultivation ex Karekare.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 19/10/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Staminate flowers. In cultivation ex Karekare.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 19/10/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Pistillate flowers. In cultivation ex Karekare.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 19/10/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Pistillate flowers. In cultivation ex Karekare.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 19/10/2007, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 25/03/2017, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Download PDF Comment on factsheet

NZPCN members can select up to 20 plant species and automatically create a full colour, fully illustrated A4 book describing them (in PDF format).

  • Find out more...
  • Join NZPCN...
Find in plant lists
iNaturalist NZ View observations Traditional Maori Uses Click here to view Te Papa View specimens Flora of NZ Click here to view Donate Support NZPCN

Common name

akeake

Synonyms

Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. subsp. viscosa

Family

Sapindaceae

Authority

Dodonaea viscosa Jacq.

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

No

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.

DODVIS

Chromosome number

2n = 28

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

Bushy shrub or small tree with flaky reddish bark and bearing long thin wavy leaves. Young parts sticky. Leaves 4-15cm long by 1-4cm wide, green to red-purple gradually narrowing to short leaf stalk and quickly narrowing to a rounded leaf tip. Flowers in panicles, small, yellow-green to red-green, developing into green dry 2-4-winged capsules.

Distribution

Indigenous. New Zealand: Three Kings, North, South and Chatham Islands. Widespread throughout the world (see Harrington & Gadek 2009). Though long regarded as naturalised on the Chatham Islands (de Lange et al. 2011), recent unpublished pollen core data show this view is incorrect (J. Wilmshurst pers. comm. 2014).

Habitat

Coastal to lowland forest, occupying a range of habitats from dunefields and boulder beaches through coastal scrub to lowland forest. Rarely forming a dominant tree in coastal forest and especially on offshore islands

Features

Shrub or small tree 3-12 m. Bark reddish brown, flaking readily in irregular shards, flakes often detaching in masses toward trunk base; young branchlets flattened to triangular, glabrous. Young growth and buds sticky (viscid). Leaves sessile or on petioles 8-12 mm. long; lamina membranous, subcoriaceous to coriaceous, initially viscid, 40-150 × 10-35 mm, green, yellow-green, bronze or red-purple; linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, elliptic to oblanceolate; base narrowly attenuate to cuneate; apex obtuse, rarely emarginate or subacute; margins entire or (very rarely) finely denticulate. Inflorescences terminal, in panicles 30-80 mm long. Flowers yellow-green to red-green; pedicellate, pedicels 10-40 mm long, viscid, minutely puberulent, hairs often deciduous. Male flowers with 3-4, 1.3-3.0 mm long,lanceolate-ovate to oblong, caducous sepals; stamens 6-10; filaments 0.1-0.6 mm long; anthers 1.2-2 mm long. Female flowers similar though sepals narrower; style bifid, prominently exserted. Capsule 2-4-winged, 15 × 15 mm broadly ellipsoid, initially cream to red tinged, resinous, drying amber to pale brown, lustrous; wings 3-10 mm wide, even,membranous, base cordate, apex emarginate, margins undulate. Seeds 2.9-3.4 mm long, dark purple-black or black, elliptic-oblong to ovoid, compressed, biconvex.

Similar taxa

None

Flowering

August - November

Flower colours

Red/Pink, Yellow

Fruiting

November - April

Life cycle

Winged fruit are dispersed by wind and possibly also by water (Thorsen et al., 2009).

Propagation technique

Easily grown from fresh seed. Often self-establishes in gardens. Dodonaea is an attractive fast-growing shrub or small tree. It is frost sensitive but otherwise remarkably resilient and will tolerate all but waterlogged soils. It should be planted in full sun. The most commonly cultivated form is D. viscosa ‘purpurea’ a colour-sport that sporadically occurs in wild populations, and which occasionally reverts in cultivation.

Etymology

dodonaea: Whispering

viscosa: Sticky

Ethnobotany

The exceptionally hard wood of akeake (Dodonaea) was much favoured by Maori for making taiaha, patu and other weapons as well as garden implements. The name akeake meaning ‘for ever for ever’ is best summed up by the words spoken by Hauraki Tonganui on 2 April 1864 at the battle of Orakau “E hoa, ka whawhai tonu ahau ki a koe, ake ake!” meaning: “Friend, I shall fight against you for ever, for ever!”

Taxonomic notes

Dodonaea viscosa is a highly variable species with a complex, confused and many would say unworkable intraspecific taxonomy (Harrington & Gadek 2009). The most recent conclusion is that Dodonaea viscosa, spread as it is over all the continents (except Antarctica) and with a wide latitudinal spread is better treated as an ‘ochlospecies’ (Harrington & Gadek 2009). This is a difficult concept to understand but it may perhaps be best summed up as: a term used to reflect any extremely variable taxon forming numerous populations of genetically similar individuals that do not have a unique genetic history relative to the other variations of that taxon found elsewhere in its range. Such taxa would therefore show greater clustering in genetic space, but would not be genealogically exclusive. For this reason the New Zealand plant is referred to D. viscosa and no subspecies recognised (though the New Zealand plant has, of course been consistently referred to the type subspecies by other workers)

Sexual expression

Dodonaea viscosa is described by Allan (1961) as dioecious, however, New Zealand populations are either monoecious (i.e. male and female on the same tree), weakly dioecious (male and female on separate plants) or more rarely gynodioecious (comprising fixed female and mixed male / hermaphrodite plants). Hermaphroditic flowers are not described here. The sexual expression of this species would make a worth while study.

Attribution

Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 11 November 2014. Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Webb & Simpson (2001), supplemented with observations made from fresh and dried material.

References and further reading

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

de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Rolfe, J.R. 2011: Checklist of vascular plants recorded from the Chatham Island Islands. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 57pp.

Harrington, M.G.; Gadek, P.A. 2009: A species well travelled – the Dodonaea viscosa (Sapindaceae) complex based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETSf sequences. Journal of Biogeography 36: 2313-2323.

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

Webb, C.J.; Simpson, M.J.A. 2001: Seeds of New Zealand Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons. Christchurch, Manuka Press.

NZPCN Fact Sheet citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Dodonaea viscosa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/dodonaea-viscosa/ (Date website was queried)

▲ Back to top
  • Home
  • Flora
  • Threats
  • Ecosystems
  • Publications
  • Conservation
  • NZPCN
  • Help
  • Contact us

© 2023 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network • Website by RS

Coastlands Plant Nursery Wildlands

Website sponsor

  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
      • Ferns
        • King fern
        • True ferns
        • Adder's tongue ferns
        • Fork ferns and whisk ferns
        • Horsetails
      • Conifers
        • Celery pines
        • Kauri
        • Podocarps
          • Podocarpus
          • Dacrydium
          • Prumnopitys
          • Dacrycarpus
          • Halocarpus
          • Lepidothamnus
          • Manoao
        • Cypress
      • Flowering plants
        • Parasites
          • Leafy mistletoes
          • Pygmy mistletoes
            • Korthalsella flowers
            • Korthalsella hosts
            • Dispersal of Korthalsella
            • Associates of Korthalsella
          • Root parasites
          • Saprophytes
        • Epiphytes
          • NZ
            • Typical
            • Occasional
            • Hemi-epiphytes
            • Ephemeral
            • NZ list
        • Monocots
          • Orchids
            • Structure
          • Grasses
        • Dicots
          • Hebes
          • Kowhai
          • Coprosma
          • Beech
          • Rata
        • Carnivorous
        • Deciduous plants
        • Aquatic plants
      • Poisonous natives
      • Threatened plant lists
      • What's a vascular plant?
      • Club mosses
    • Non Vascular
      • Bryophytes
        • Liverworts
        • Mosses
        • Hornworts
      • Algae
        • Seaweeds
      • Lichens
    • Plant identification
      • Written descriptions
      • Experts
      • Plant keys
        • Key to parasitic plant genera
      • Collecting plants
        • Should I collect
        • Choosing a specimen
        • Field notes
        • Fresh plant material
        • Pressing and drying
        • Mounting specimens
        • Labelling specimens
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
      • Unwanted organisms
      • DOC weeds
      • Plant me instead
      • Pest Plant Accord
    • Pest Animals
      • Mammals
        • Mustelids
        • Rodents
        • Ungulates
        • Possums
      • Fish
      • Insects
    • Other threats
      • Natural events
        • Insects
      • Human induced
        • Habitat loss
        • Collection
        • Climate change
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
      • Dunes
        • Volcanic
        • Coastal
          • Threats
          • Common species
          • Research on dunes
          • Pingao research
          • What you can do
      • Wetlands
        • Estuaries
          • Common estuarine species
          • Research on estuaries
        • Ephemeral
        • Restiad peat bogs
      • Forests
        • Kauri-podocarp-broadleaved
        • Podocarp broadleaved
        • Beech
      • Scrub/shrublands
        • Geothermal
          • Distribution of geothermal vegetation
          • Geothermal plants
          • Geothermal vegetation types
          • Threats to geothermal vegetation
        • Frost flat/hollow
        • Manuka fens
        • Gumlands
      • Grasslands
        • Tussock grasslands
      • Bare ground
        • Braided rivers
        • Alpine
        • Cliff
        • Scree and boulderfields
        • Shingle beaches
      • Herbfields
        • Saltpan
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
      • Plant lists by region
      • Search plant lists
      • National plant lists
      • How to prepare a plant list
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
      • Project 1 - Pohutukawa, Rata and Myrtaceae
      • Project 2 - Alpine flora and the Forget-Me-Nots
      • Project 3 - Kowhai and its relatives
      • Project 4 - Podocarps and trees of the forest
    • Training
      • Module 1: Plant life
      • Module 2: Covenants
      • Module 3: Propagation
      • Module 4: Wetlands
      • Pilot course 2006
    • Restoration
      • Gardening
        • Being weed wise
        • Garden plants
          • Trees and shrubs
          • Broad-leaved herbs
          • Grass-like herbs
          • Climbers
          • Ferns
        • Attracting wildlife
        • Planting for lizards
          • Rules
      • Species recovery
        • Plant translocations
      • Ecological restoration
        • Case studies
          • Tavora Reserve
          • Waiwhakareke
      • Revegetation
      • Eco-sourcing
      • Find a restoration group
    • Monitoring
      • Number count
        • Number count method
        • Pros and cons of number counts
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Presence/absence surveys
        • Presence/absence survey methods
        • Pros and cons of presence/absence surveys
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Mapping spatial extent
        • Spatial extent mapping methods
        • Pros and cons of spatial extent mapping
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Photo points
        • Photo point guidelines
    • Habitat protection
      • Legal protection
        • Nga Whenua Rahui
        • QEII covenants
        • DOC Covenants
      • Animal pest control
      • Weed control
      • Fencing
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
      • Conference 2022
        • Conference programme summary
        • 2022 conference workshops
        • 2022 conference field trips
        • Code of conduct
        • COVID-19 information
        • 2022 conference sponsors
        • Abstract and poster submission
        • 2022 Conference venue and accommodation
        • Conference Workshop: Restoration Pathways
        • 2022 conference postponement
      • Conference 2019
      • Conference 2017
      • Conference 2015
        • Speakers
        • Workshops
        • Field trips
        • Charity auction
      • Conference 2013
        • Speakers
        • Timetable
      • 2023 Restoration Pathways Workshop
    • David Given Scholarship
      • David Given Scholarship Recipients
    • Members
    • Council members
      • NZPCN council member profiles
      • Council 2013
      • Council 2012
      • Council 2011
      • Council 2010
      • Council 2009
      • Council 2008
      • Council 2007
      • Council 2006
      • Council 2005
      • Council 2004
      • Council 2003
    • Awards
      • NZPCN Awards
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
        • 2012
        • 2011
        • 2010
        • 2009
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
        • 2005
        • 2022
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
      • Joining the Network
      • The Network
      • Network website
      • New Zealand plants
      • The law
      • Your discoveries
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us