Species
Coprosma obconica
Etymology
Coprosma: from the Greek kopros 'dung' and osme 'smell', referring to the foul smell of the species, literally 'dung smell'
obconica: Inverted cone
Common Name(s)
Coprosma
Current Conservation Status
2018 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable
Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB
Previous Conservation Status
2012 - At Risk - Declining
2009 - At Risk - Declining
2004 - Gradual Decline
Qualifiers
2012 - RR
2009 - RRF
Authority
Coprosma obconica Kirk
Family
Rubiaceae
Brief Description
Rare bushy small-leaved wide-angled shrub bearing white flattened fruit and with mottled brown or green juvenile leaves (also often present at the base of adult trees). Adult leaves in pairs, to 12mm long, oval, glossy, margins thickened and down-curved, tip blunt with a small sharp point.
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
COPOBC
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.
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs
Synonyms
Coprosma obconica Kirk subsp. obconica
Distribution
Endemic. North Island: scattered populations near Taihape and one near Masterton. South Island: From DUrville Island and north west Nelson south to Southland and Otago, being apparently absent only from Westland and Stewart Island.
Habitat
Occupying a wide range of habitats, from estuarine shrublands, braided river bars, lowland podocarp forest to montane marble/limestone/dolomite karstfield, and very occasionally ultramafic boulderfields. The species is a basicole preferring to grow on base-rich substrates (limestone, marble, calcareous mudstone, recent alluvium) but typically in those habitats prone to physiological (e.g., ultramafic, dolomite, or estuarine) or climatic (e.g., drought prone, frost hollows, or with a seasonally high water table) stress.
Features
Suberect to erect, heaily branched,divaricating shrub 2-3.5 x 0.8-1 m. Bark of mature twigs brown or pale silver-grey, papery, inner bark green. Adult leaves of one type only, broadly elliptic to oblancelate, 3.5-12 x 1.5-2.5 (-3.5) mm, light greyish green, sometimes mottled yellow. Male and female plants on separate plants. Drupes (fruits) greenish white or translucent white, variously striped or blotched dark violet-purple when fresh. Pyrenes (Seeds) 3 x 2.2. mm, 2.5 mm deep, pale grey or white, clog-shaped. For a full description see de Lange & Gardner (2002, New Zealand Journal of Botany 40 (1): 25-38) where this species is treated as C. obconica subsp. obconica.
Similar Taxa
Coprosma distantia which differs from C. obconica by its prostrate, trailing habit, uniformly cream to pale lemon-coloured fruits, larger, scarcely "notched" pyrenes (seeds) and nrDNA ITS and ETS sequence. Both C. obconica and C. distantia form a species pair, which are vegetatively distinguished from all other New Zealand Coprosma species by their leaf tips, which possess a nipple-like "bull nose" apical leaf prolongation.
Flowering
April to August
Fruiting
January to September
Propagation Technique
Moderately easy from semi-hardwood or hardwood cuttings. Seed germinates easily but plants are very slow growing.
Threats
Competition from weeds, and the loss of mainly lowland Podocarp forest habitat are the main active threats. However, ongoing dolomite mining at Mt Burnett seriously threatens one of the largest populations known. Although many populations are small, the species is remarkably resilient if sites are given minimal management, e.g., hand pulling of weeds.
Chromosome No.
2n = 44
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Fleshy drupes are dispersed by frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Where To Buy
Coprosma obconica is grown by a few specialist nurseries, and several botanic gardens. Plants are very slow growing, and without male and female plants fruit is rarely set.
References and further reading
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
This page last updated on 23 Jun 2014