Species

Gaultheria antipoda

Etymology

Gaultheria: Named after Jean François Gaultier of Quebec (6 Oct 1708-10 July 1756) by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748.
antipoda: Named after the Antipodes i.e. Australia or New Zealand which are on the opposite side of the world from Europe

Common Name(s)

bush snowberry, fool's beech

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

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

2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Gaultheria antipoda G.Forst.

Family

Ericaceae

Brief Description

Bushy shrub bearing rounded small leathery toothed leaves on hairy twigs. Hairs on twigs black mixed with shorter paler hairs. Flowers white, bell-shaped, solitary at base of leaf. Leaves alternating on stem, 7-10mm long by 6-10mm wide, sometimes much smaller at tip of twig, Fruit red or white, lobed.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

GAUANT

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

Gaultheria epiphyta Colenso

Flower Colours

Red / Pink,White

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 22

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Fleshy berries are dispersed by invertebrate frugivory (Thorsen et al., 2009).

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 25 Sep 2014