Hoheria sexstylosa
Common names
houhere, lacebark
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
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
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 central New Zealand. Leaves 5-15cm long by 1-5cm wide, widest near middle. Juvenile plants with tangled branches bearing rounded leaves only 1-3cm long and with 3-5 blunt teeth.
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Heteroblastic, much-branched tree up to 18 m tall; bark of mature trunk and branches dark grey-brown that of younger growth dark red brown branches and branchlets rather slender, ascending often with branchlet apices pendulous; indumentum on mature parts, sparse. comprised of short stellate hairs; indumentum of younger parts and inflorescences rather denser, comprised of copious stellate hairs. Juvenile and sub-adult plants usually filiramulate, sub-divaricate to ± fully divaricate (such growth sometimes persisting as reversion shoots on the damaged trunk of mature trees); leaves rather distant, on very slender, brittle petioles (4.8)-5.0(-8.0) mm long; lamina (10-)15(-30) × (10-)15(-25) mm, adaxially dark green to grey-green, dull or glossy, adaxially paler and dull, broad-ovate to suborbicular, base cuneately narrowed, margins irregularly and deeply 3-5-lobed or coarsely incised, teeth dentate;lamina surfaces usually finely covered in caducous stellate hairs. Adult leaves on slender, pliant petioles 5-10(-20) mm long; lamina (50-)150 × (10-)50(-60) mm, adaxially dark green to grey-green, dull or glossy, adaxially paler and dull, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, apices mostly acuminate, sometimes obtuse to broadly rounded, base cuneately narrowed; lamina surfaces ± glabrous, sometimes sparsely covered in reddish to grey caducous stellate hairs (especially abaxially on and near midrib). Flowers 18-20(-25) mm diameter, in 2-5-flowered cymose fascicles or solitary, on slender pedicels 20-30 mm long. Calyx campanulate, (4.5-)6.0(-8.0) mm long, teeth narrowly triangular, indumentum usually dense, hairs stellate; petals 10-15 mm long, white, obliquely oblong, notched.; styles (5)-6-7, stigmas capitate; anthers white. Carpels (5-)6(-7) compressed. Mericarp winged, main body 4.5-6.5 mm long, brown; wing 3.2-8.0 mm long, abruptly curved outwards, orange yellow, finely and sparsely covered with stellate hairs.
Similar taxa
Hoheria populnea could be confused with H. sexstylosa. However, H. populnea has a more northerly distribution, though the ranges of H. sexstylosa and H. populnea overlap in the northern Waikato and western Auckland. Hoheria sexstylosa differs from H. populnea by its heteroblastic growth habit, with the juveniles filiramulate and sub-divaricate, and by the adults whose leaves tend to be narrower, grey-green, with more finely toothed margins with the teeth less coarse and more closely spaced. Hoheria sexstylosa tends to form taller trees, with distinctly pendulous branches. The flowers, as the species epithet implies, usually have 6 carpels. In the southern part of its range H. sexstylosa usually grows with H. angustifolia, with which if frequently hybridises (the type of Hoheria populnea var. lanceolata is based on just such a hybrid). Hoheria angustifolia is easily distinguished from H. sexstylosa by its distinct filiramulate-divaricate, long persistent juvenile (which often appears as reversion shoots on the damaged trunks of mature trees), by the mature leaves which are much narrowed and more deeply toothed, and by the flowers which have 5 carpels rather the usual six seen in H. sexstylosa. Where hybridism between both these species is prolific, these distinctions can become blurred (see H. angustifolia). Hoheria is a genus in dire need of a modern systematic revision.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island: from northern Waikato and Coromandel Peninsula south to south Wellington Coast and Wairarapa. South Island: rather local. Wild, natural populations are now hard to distinguish from naturalised ones. Those from North West Nelson and inland Marlborough are probably natural. Some botanists regard all South Island occurrences of H. sexstylosa as naturalised but this seems unlikely. Hoheria sexstylosa currently includes plants that AP Druce referred at as Hoheria ‘Tararua’.
Habitat
Coastal, lowland to montane riparian forest.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None
Taxonomic notes
Hoheria populnea var. lanceolata Hook.f. is based on a hybrid between H. sextsylosa and H. angustifolia Raoul. Nevertheless this hybrid has frequently and incorrectly been used by some New Zealand botanists as an alternative name for H. sexstylosa.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
February - May
Fruiting
April - August
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed. Less adaptable than H. populnea and prefers a damp soil in a sheltered site (at least until it becomes established). The juvenile foliage is unusual and very different from the adult form.
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
Cultivation
Occasionally sold by garden centres and commonly available from specialist native plant nurseries. Has naruralised from garden plantings and is weedy outside its natural range.
Etymology
hoheria: Latin version of the Maori name houhere which refers to H. populnea and H. glabrata.
sexstylosa: Six styles
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.
HOHSEX
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
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Data Deficient
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I, Wellington, Government Printer.
Moorfield, J. C. 2005: Te Aka: Maori-English, English-Maori dictionary and index. Pearson Longman: Auckland, N.Z.
Webb, C.J.; Simpson, M.J.A. 2001: Seeds of New Zealand Gymnosperms and Dicotyledons. Christchurch, Manuka Press.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange (9 April 2011). Description based on herbarium specimens and live plants grown by P.J. de Lange (9 April 2011), supplemented by information obtained from Allan (1961) and Webb & Simpson (2011).
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 sexstylosa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/hoheria-sexstylosa/ (Date website was queried)