Species

Coriaria pottsiana

Etymology

Coriaria: From the Latin corium 'hide', possibly from the use of some species for tanning leather

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

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 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Range Restricted

Qualifiers

2012 - RR, Sp

Authority

Coriaria pottsiana W.R.B.Oliv.

Family

Coriariaceae

Brief Description

Low-growing bushy spreading bronze shrub consisting of many erect soft square branches bearing bronze rounded wavy leaves 6-8mm long by 5-6mm wide inhabiting peaks in the East Cape. Leaves widest about the middle, with obvious side veins. Flowers arranged in a 4-14cm long spike at end of twigs.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

CORPOT

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

Flower Colours

White

Chromosome No.

2n = 60

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

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

Poisonous plant

All Coriaria species are poisonous especially the seed inside the black berries. Click on this link for more information about Poisonous native plants.

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 6 Dec 2014