Pseudopanax discolor
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Shrubby small tree with toothed leaves in groups of three at the end of long stems
Flower colours
Green
Detailed description
Shrubby much-branched small tree to 5 m tall, branchlets fleshy, brittle, bark pale brown, lenticels prominent. Leaves alternate; Petioles 2-8 cm long; leaflets (1-)3(-5), palmate, thinly coriaceous, dark green to bronze or yellowish green above, paler purplish green below, obovate- to elliptic-cuneate, coarsely and sharply serrate, midrib and lateral veins prominent, darker. Terminal leaflet 4-8 x 1.5-2.5 cm, on short (c. 5 mm) petiolule, lateral leaflets sessile. Inflorescence a diffuse terminal umbel; staminate (male) with 4-10 rays, 3-8 cm long, racemosely arranged; pistillate (female) with rays 2-5 cm long, umbellules irregular, 2-6 flowered. Ovary 5-loculed, each containing 1 ovule (some aborted); style branches 5, connate, tips free. Fruit fleshy, oblong, 6.5 mm long, style branches retained on an apical disc, dark purple when ripe. Seeds 4-5 per fruit, easily broadly ovate, grooved, 4.5-5.5 mm long.
Similar taxa
Only usually confused with Pseudopanax arboreus which usually has 5 leaflets. Psudopanax colensoi var. ternata also has three leaflets but these are larger and thicker.
Distribution
Endemic. North Island. Northland to upper Waikato region.
Habitat
Coastal and lowland forest and shrubland. Sealevel to c. 750 m a.s.l. A common component of the sites it inhabits
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: DPT
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Araliaceae
Synonyms
Panax discolor Kirk
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
Yes
Ecology
Flowering
November-February
Fruiting
November-February
Other information
Etymology
pseudopanax: False cure
discolor: Two colours or of different colours; from the latin dis and color; different colours of the leaf surfaces
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.
PSEDIS
Chromosome number
2n = 48
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 NZ, Vol. I. Government Printer, Wellington
Webb, C.J. & Simpson, M.J.A. 2001. Seeds of NZ gymnosperms and dicotyledons. Manuka Press, Christchurch.
Attribution
Description adapted from Allan (1961).
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.