Ascarina lucida, commonly known as hutu, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Chloranthaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand; its range mostly covers the western coast of the South Island. It is also found in the North Island, but is uncommon there. It inhabits lowland and montane forests, and grows in various soil types. It reaches a height of up to 8 metres (30 feet). It has glossy leaves which have tipped teeth on their margins.
Hutu is a species of monoecious shrub or small tree, reaching heights of up to 8 metres (30 feet) with a trunk of up to 300mm in diameter.[1] Its bark is pale and smooth.[2] The branchlets are slender and dark purple.[1] The wood is reddish-brown, straight-grained, and is noted to be tough and strong.[3] The largest specimens are estimated to have a lifespan of about 130 years.[4]
Its petioles are 8–10mm long. Its laminae are coriaceous (leather-like) in character, 20–80×15–38mm long, elliptic to oval to obovate; the surface of the leaves is glossy yellow-green (rarely dark green), and the serrations are dark purple-black or maroon.[1] The bracts are acute in shape.[1] The leaves resemble those of pukatea (Laurelia novae-zelandiae), but can be distinguished by A. lucida having bristles at the bases of the leaves.[2]
Its inflorescences (flower clusters) are found in branched spikes, the branches around 30–40mm long.[3] The flowers are green or red-tinged and 0.8–1.2mm long. The male flowers have one cylindrical anther, 2.5–3.0mm long; the female flowers are smaller.[5] The fruit is a fleshy white drupe, 2.5–3.0mm long, broadly ovoid, and contains one seed.[1][3]A. lucida has a diploid chromosome count of 26.[1]
Phytochemisty
Soltis & Bohm (1982) first investigated the phytochemistry traits of the species and discovered that A. lucida contains various flavanoids, including quercetin and kaempferol.[6] The flavonoid structures are comparable to those of members of three other angiosperm families: Lauraceae, Saururaceae, and Piperaceae; several studies, including Soltis & Bohm (1982), suggested a close relationship between Chloranthaceae and these families.[7]
The genus Ascarina likely diverged around 31 million years ago in the early Oligocene.[10] The species of Ascarina occur principally on the Pacific Islands, except one species found in Madagascar. Zhang et al. (2011), based on plastid DNA analysis, divided Ascarina into two main clades (groups); one lineage consisting of A. solmsiana and A. coursii were assigned to section Madagascarina; the other lineage had not been well-studied, although A. lucida and A. polystachya are considered to be part of a sister group, meaning A. lucida the closest relative is A. polystachya of the Society Islands.[11][12]
There are two recognised varieties of A. lucida:[8]
A. lucida var. lucida — endemic to mainland New Zealand
A. lucida var. lanceolata — endemic to the Kermadec Islands
Etymology
The genus name Ascarina derives from the Latinascris, which refers to intestinal roundworms; this refers to the worm-shaped anthers.[13] The specific epithetlucida derives from the Latin lucidus, 'shining', and refers to the shiny leaf surface.[13] The species is commonly known as hutu, which comes from the Māori language.[1][3]
Ecology
The native silvereye bird consumes the fruits of A. lucida.
Moore (1977) studied the floral structure of A. lucida, which was further investigated by Garnock-Jones et al. (2025).[17][18]A. lucida is confirmed to be monoecious, with male and female flower structures found on the same plant. It was previously thought to be dioecious, with individual trees either male or female.[18][19]
The environmental tolerance of Ascarina lucida to different climates was experimentally tested by exposing seedlings to temperature, drought, and waterlogged soil conditions. In a 2005 study, A. lucida seedlings showed tolerance of waterlogged soils, though they experienced significantly reduced root biomass under severe waterlogging. Additionally, exposure to a temperature of −2°C caused the seedlings to die out. It exhibits similar drought tolerance to Coprosma autumnalis, which is known for its drought intolerance.[20]Germination rates depend on their environmental location; the species is well-adapted to colonising disturbed sites. A 2002 study recorded that submontane populations had a germination rate of 76 percent, while seeds from lowland populations had a rate of 32 percent.[21]
Ascarina lucida is typically found in lowland and montane forests.[1] In the South Island, A. lucida does not occur at altitudes above 300m (980ft), however, in the North Island it can reach altitudes of 850m (2,790ft).[24] In the Auckland Region, it occurs from 20–600 metres (70–2,000 feet) above sea level.[25]A. lucida grows in various soil types and is principally found in podocarp-hardwood forests in sheltered sites. It is often found in areas with an annual rainfall of 1,500mm or more.[26][25]
Conservation
The 2023 assessment of Ascarina lucida var. lucida in the New Zealand Threat Classification System was "Not Threatened", while A. l. var. lanceolata was assessed as "At Risk – Naturally Uncommon". A. lucida var. lucida is "Regionally Endangered" in the Auckland Region.[1]
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