Leionema nudum
Common names
Mairehau
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Small bushy shrub with narrow finely notched leaves inhabiting the north of the North Island. Leaves 25-45mm long by 5-10mm wide, blunt, often brownish green, margins with many tiny nicks. Flowers white, with many projecting filaments. Fruit dry.
Flower colours
White
Distribution
Endemic. Confined to the North Island where it is locally distributed from Te Paki south to Pukenui Hill, Kawhia in the west and the northern Kaimai Range in the east. Rather uncommon south of Auckland and Thames
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.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- 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 | At Risk – Declining | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT, PF
Threats
Not Threatened but it is heavily browsed by goats over some parts of its range
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Rutaceae
Synonyms
Phebalium nudum Hook.f.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Life cycle and dispersal
Drupes are dispersed by ballistic projection and possibly ants (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Can be grown from semi-hardwood cuttings and seed. Cuttings are often hard to strike, and seed can be slow to germinate. Cold sensitive but once established quite hardy. A beautiful shrub which should be more widely grown
Other information
Poisonous plant
The fragrant leaves when crushed exude an oil which in some people can cause severe burns if the affected skin is then exposed to strong sunlight. Leionema nudum is the only species of the genus found outside Australia.
Cultivation
Occasionally sold by specialist native plant nurseries.
Etymology
nudum: Bare
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.
LEINUD
Chromosome number
2n = 32
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
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