Litsea calicaris
Common names
mangeao, tangeao
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Small bushy tree bearing glossy green thin undulating oval leaves and dark purple fruit inhabiting the upper North Island. Leaves 5-12.5cm long by 3-5cm wide, taper to both the tip and base, leaf stalk dark. Flowers yellowish, in clusters. Fruit 15-20mm long.
Flower colours
Yellow
Detailed description
Stout, spreading tree up to 18 m tall; trunk up to 0.80 m dbh; usually solitary, rarely branched from base, often sporting numerous suckers and epicormic growth; bark dark grey to grey-brown, firm (not flaking). Branches stout, initially upright and then shortly to widely spreading, branchlets numerous, sparingly lenticillate, glabrous. Leaves alternate, subcoriaceous, glabrous, adaxially glossy dark green, yellow-green or green suffused with red, sometimes mottled or spotted with dark red or purple (emergent leaves often glaucescent or deeply tinged wine-red), abaxially glaucous or tinged wine-red; midrib raised on both surfaces, veination distinct when fresh or dried; petioles 15-30 mm long, somewhat wiry, dark green red or maroon-black; lamina 50-130 × 30-60 mm, ovate, oval, ovate-elliptic, apex obtuse to subacute, base broadly cuneate. Inflorescence an axillary, racemosely arranged, 4-5-flowered, open or rather congested, involucrate, umbel; peduncle 10-40 mm long, rigidly wiry, pedicels sparsely, minutely, pubescent. Involucrum comprising 4, 5-10 mm long, broadly oblong to oblong-elliptic, glabrous, somewhat fleshy, ± caducous pale green, cream (often red-tinged) scales. Flower perianth segments 4-6(-8), 4-5 mm long, cream, white, pale yellow or greenish,oblong to ovate. Stamens 10-12(-18); filaments slender, 0.8-2.6 mm long, white or pinkish white, biglandular; staminodes flattened, biglandular; stigma dilated,irregularly 3-lobed. Drupe 15-22 mm long, 1-seeded, subovoid to ovoid, seated in enlarged perianth tube; mesocarp purple-black. Endocarp membranous, 10-13 mm long, dark brown. Description adapted from Allan (1961) and Webb & Simpson (2001).
Similar taxa
None
Distribution
Endemic. Three Kings and North Islands. Common to about Mokau in the west and the Rotorua lakes area and Mahia Peninsula in the east
Habitat
Coastal lowland and lower montane forest. Mangeao is usually a fairly localised tree over much of its range but in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, particularly on the deep so called “ash” soils and on the limestones in the western Waikato it can be the dominant canopy tree. Although mangaeo seems to like high rainfall it is (or was) also an important tree on the lava fields of Auckland, and it is one of the few tree species to grow on the ultramafic rocks of North Cape.
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 | Not Threatened
Threats
Not Threatened. Mangaeo while certainly not threatened at a national level is experiencing a decline over some parts of its range. While possum browse is a factor in some areas, die back of apparently healthy trees in areas where possums are controlled or scarce is of some concern. From time to time “mangaeo die back” is reported in the media - the cause of this “die back” warrants further study.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Lauraceae
Synonyms
Tetranthera calicaris Hook.f.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September - November
Fruiting
September - March
Propagation technique
Although easily grown from seed mangeao is often fickle and hard to maintain. In nursery conditions seedlings and saplings can be difficult to maintain. Even apparently well established trees will in cultivation inexplicably die. It for this reason that mangaeo is rarely available from nurseries.
Other information
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.
LITCAL
Chromosome number
2n = 24
Previous conservation statuses
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.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 10 February 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): Litsea calicaris Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/litsea-calicaris/ (Date website was queried)