Melicytus venosus
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 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: Sp, CD, DPT, PD, RR
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Similar taxa
Distinguished from Melicytus orarius and M. novae-zelandiae subsp. novae-zelandiae by its taller stature (up to 6 m tall); upright, diffuse branches (with the main stems having collars of protruding corky lenticels); by the broadly elliptic, broadly elliptic-oblong or ovate-orbicular leaves that are membranous to semi-coriaceous, and with the distal margins crenate or weakly serrate (usually with 1–6 teeth), and by the cuneate to slightly obtuse bases. Melicytus venosus also differs from M. orarius by having glabrous stems, visible leaf veinlets and petals that are without a prominent purple margin.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
None - first described in 2017
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August - October
Fruiting
February - August
Other information
Etymology
melicytus: From the Greek meli (honey) and kytos (hollow container), referring to the staminal nectaries of the flowers. Literally “honey-cave”
Chromosome number
2n = 32
Previous 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.
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable | Qualifiers: CD, RR, Sp