Piper excelsum subsp. delangei
Common names
de Lange’s kawakawa, de Lange’s pepper
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CD, IE
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Fleshy shrub with jointed green twigs bearing large dark green glossy heart-shaped fleshy leaves with hard green flower spikes inhabiting the Three Kings Islands. Leaves to 160mm wide, veins radiating from middle, peppery to taste. Fruit orange.
Detailed description
Shrub or small tree to at least 3 m tall; stems ± erect, not notably lenticellate, new shoots green (without reddish colouring), taste oily-aromatic and extremely peppery; pith of axes (including rachis of spike) usually without a mucilage core (but this sometimes present in sucker shoots), in older (leafless, secondarily thickened) stems the pith not more than 0.5× stem diameter, and remaining intact in the largest trunks. Prophyll a collar to 0.5(-2.0) mm high. Leaf blades coriaceous, fleshy ± suborbicular, at vegetative nodes to 100(-160) mm diameter, usually with 7 or 9 principal nerves, cordate at base, with a very narrow or closed sinus, occasionally basal lobes overlapping, or sometimes the blade peltate with the petiole inserted up to 5(-20) mm inside blade margin, upper surface of blade not bullate; petiole to 40(-60) mm long, c.0.4×as long as blade, the sheath 0.3-1.0(-2)× as long as non-sheathing part, truncate-rounded at apex and not produced there, the non-sheathing part of petiole to 3.5 mm diam. Inflorescences solitary or 2-3 together on a short (rarely more than I cm long) axillary shoot, and (usually solitary) on the adjacent terminal shoot (occasionally this shoot not fertile); reduced leaf at apex of fertile shoot with a glabrous petiole and usually with a green oblong lamina at least 5 mm long, but lamina often ± lacking, especially on terminal fertile shoot. Female inflorescence erect in flowering and remaining so into fruit, peduncle to c. 1.5 cm long, spike to 60(-100) × c.6 mm diameter, with uniseriate usually 5-10-cellular hairs to 0.15 mm long on lower part of bract stalks and sparingly on rachis, these hairs not obvious on the peduncle just below the lowermost bracts; bracts peltate, bract heads 0.40-0.75 mm diameter; flowers at full emergence centred c.1.3 mm apart, emergent part of ovary ovoid; stigmas 3-4(-5), together c. 1.2 mm diameter. Male inflorescence erect, spike to c.110 mm long, proximally c.6 mm diameter, bracts and hairs as in female inflorescence; staminal filaments c. 0.25 mm long, anthers c.1.00 × 0.75 mm wide. Ripe infructescence c.10 mm diameter; fruitlets coalescent, sunken apically about the persistent dark stigmas, exocarp and mesocarp orange; seed oblong to slightly obovoid, apiculate at apex, c.2.0 × 1.5 dark brown, with (3-)4-5(-7) broad longitudinal furrows.
Similar taxa
Piper excelsum subsp. peltatum has an allopatric distribution, it is otherwise superficially similar differing mainly by its much thinner, less fleshy, and less frequently peltate leaves, more weakly ornamented seeds and less distinctly spicy taste.
Distribution
Endemic. Three Kings Islands: Manawa Tawhi (Great Island), South West and North East Islands
Habitat
Coastal forest where it is often an important component of the shrub layer. On South West Island it is sympatric with, and forms hybrids with Piper melchior.
Threats
Not Threatened. Listed because it is a narrow range endemic confined to a small geographic area
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Macropiper excelsum subsp. peltatum f. delangei R.O. Gardner
Taxonomic notes
‘The generic distinction between Macropiper and Piper has always been tenuous. Recently Jaramillo et al. (2008) have shown that Macropiper should be merged in Piper. However, they did not effect the full transfer of the New Zealand taxa to Piper. This action was taken by de Lange (2012) for Macropiper excelsum subsp. psittacorum, Macropiper excelsum subsp. peltatum f. peltatum and f. delangei.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
August - December
Fruiting
September - May
Propagation technique
Easy from semi-hardwood cuttings and fresh seed. Frost tender. Does best in semi-shade. It is remarkably drought tolerant. The dark green, thick, somewhat glossy, typically peltate leaves are quite unusual.
Other information
Etymology
piper: Pepper
excelsum: Tall
delangei: Commemorating the New Zealand botanist Peter J. de Lange (1966-); de Lange specialises in threat classification systems, plant systematics, cytology and insular floras.
Chromosome number
2n = 26
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 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CD, IE
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CD, IE
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RC, IE
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
de Lange, P.J. 2012: Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: new names in Piper (Piperaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany DOI:10.1080/0028825X.2012.708904
Gardner, R.O. 1997: Macropiper (Piperaceae) in the south-west Pacific. New Zealand Journal of Botany 35: 293-307.
Jaramillo, M.A.; Callejas, R; Davidson, C.; Smith, J.F.; Stevens, A.C.; Tepe, E.J. 2008: A phylogeny of the tropical genus Piper using ITS and the chloroplast intron psbJ-petA. Systematic Botany 33: 647-660.
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 30 August 2005. Description based on Gardner (1997).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Piper excelsum subsp. delangei Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/piper-excelsum-subsp-delangei/ (Date website was queried)