Hoheria populnea
Common names
lacebark, houhere, ribbonwood
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Soft-wooded tree with a grey trunk bearing leathery toothed leaves and large white flowers that develop into a winged dry fruit inhabiting the northern North Island. Leaves 7-14cm long by 4-6 cm wide, widest at base. Juvenile plants with zigzagging branches bearing leaves only 1-3 cm long with deep gaps between teeth.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Small upright to often spreading tree up to 8 m tall (rarely more); bark of mature trunk and branches dark grey-brown that of younger growth dark red-brown or maroon, branches and branchlets ascending, in some forms pendulous,pliant, slender, often deeply grooved, ± glabrescent, indumentum comprised of short stellate hairs, on mature parts sparse, on young parts and inflorescence sparse to dense. Juvenile foliage identical or nearly so to adult. Leaves subcoriaceous to coriaceous glossy, adaxially dark-green to yellow-green, sometimes with veins more darkly pigmented, abaxially often maroon or purple with darker coloured veins, sometimes green or glaucescent; petioles slender, pliant up to 10 mm long; lamina (5-)10(-30) mm long, broad-ovate to deltoid to suborbicular in outline, margins serrate, usually deeply so, coarsely lobed. Adult leaves similar, on petioles up to 20 mm long; lamina (50-)7(-180) mm × (30-)40(-60) mm, broad-ovate to ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, apex acuminate or acute, obtuse or rounded, base rounded to truncate (rarely subcordate); margins deeply, coarsely, sometimes doubly, serrate-dentate, teeth usually well spaced. Flowers 25-30 mm diameter, both solitary and in (2-)5-10-flowered cymose clusters on same plant; pedicels 8-10(-12) mm long; calyx campanulate, 5-6 mm long, teeth broadly to narrowly triangular; petals 10-12 mm long, white, obliquely oblong, oftenn notched.; stigmas capitate. Mature carpels 5(-6), compressed. Mericarp winged, main body 4.5-6.5 mm long, brown; wing 3.0-8.5 mm long, slightly curved outwards, orange yellow, finely and sparsely covered with stellate hairs. Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Webb & Simpson (2001).
Similar taxa
Hoheria equitum is similar but that species is endemic to the Poor Knights and Hen & Chicken Islands. It differs by having distinctly coriaceous, uniformly light green, finely serrated to sub-entire leaves, and smaller flowers which tend to be obscured by the foliage. Hoheria sexstylosa is also often confused with H. populnea, from which it differs by its distinctive filiramulate juvenile growth habit, pendulous branches, and narrower, more finely serrated leaves. The flowers are also somewhat smaller but tend to have 6 rather than 5 carpels.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island only from North Cape (Pararaki Stream) south to the northern Waikato and Coromandel. However widely planted and often found naturalising throughout the southern North Island, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands.
Habitat
Coastal to montane usually in kauri (Agathis australis) forest but also in successional forest associated with kauri. Also common in pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa)-dominated coastal 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
Synonyms
Hoheria sinclairii Hook.f., H. populnea subsp. vulgaris Kirk var. vulgaris, H. populnea subsp. vulgaris var. sinclairii (Hook.f.) Kirk, H. populnea var. crataegifolia Hook.f. (pro parte)
Taxonomic notes
Hoheria populnea is a very variable species with well marked, and geographically defined races. This variation needs critical study. Indeed the genus as a whole is in serious need of a modern systematic revision.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
January - March
Fruiting
April - June
Life cycle and dispersal
Winged mericarps are dispersed by wind (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed, and wild seedlings are often found in the vicinity of garden plants. Specimens tend to be short-lived and they often suffer from Hoheria dieback - a syndrome which kills portions of the tree and has no cure. An excellent fast-growing tree suitable as a wind break and as temporary shelter (because it is so short-lived). Numerous horticultural selections and cultivars are known.
Other information
Cultivation
Commonly sold at most garden centres. A form with purple stamens is known as cv. Osbournei, and comes originally from Great Barrier Island.
Notes of hybridisation
Hybridises in the northern Waikato and Auckland areas where it naturally meets with H. sexstylosa. Hoheria populnea is widely planted, often inappropriately as part of restoration plantings, and freely naturalises from these. In cultivation this species hybridises readily with H. angustifolia, H. equitum, H. ovata and H. sexstylosa.
Etymology
hoheria: Latin version of the Maori name houhere which refers to H. populnea and H. glabrata.
populnea: Poplar-like
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.
HOHPOP
Chromosome number
2n = 42
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
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Wellington, Government Printer.
Webb, C.J.; Simpson, M.J.A. 2001: Seeds of New Zealand Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons. Christchurch, Manuka Press.
Moorfield, J. C. 2005: Te Aka: Maori-English, English-Maori dictionary and index. Pearson Longman: Auckland, N.Z.
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.
Attribution
Fact Sheet Prepared by P.J. de Lange (9 April 2011). Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Webb & Simpson (2001).
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): Hoheria populnea Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/hoheria-populnea/ (Date website was queried)