Rhaphiolepis umbellata
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
sexton’s bride
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Detailed description
Bushy shrub to about 3 m high. Leaves distributed along younger stems, petiole 10-15mm, with the upper part meeting a tapering lower leaf. Pale brown tomentose at first but becoming glabrous on both surfaces. Inflorecence an erect terminal, with c. 20 flowers. Sepals pilose, purplish or reddish. Petals white, filaments pink. (summary of Webb et al 1988)
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
July, August, September, October, November, December
Fruiting
March- April
Year naturalised
1982
Origin
Japan, Korea
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Can invade poor soils so is a species to watch (Ewen Cameron 1996)
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. 6 months flowering, 6 months fruiting.
Other information
Etymology
umbellata: Bearing flowers in umbels
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
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.
RHAUMB