Coprosma cuneata

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Coprosma cuneata
Coprosma cuneata-Botany of Antarctica-PL015-0035.jpg
Plate XV Coprosma cuneata [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Coprosma
Species:
C. cuneata
Binomial name
Coprosma cuneata

Coprosma cuneata, is a shrub in the Rubiaceae family, endemic to New Zealand. [3]

Contents

Description

Coprosma cuneata is a slender shrub up to 1 m tall that may hug the ground on exposed sites. The flexible branchlets are dark to very dark brown with clusters of small dark green narrow leaves. The stipules are oblong to triangular with a tuft of hair at their apex. The leaves are in distant opposite pairs with slender 1-2 mm stalks. The leaves are curved and 10-16 mm by 2 mm. They are widest at the tip. The fruit is red, 3-5 mm in diameter and persists on the shrub. [3]

Taxonomy and etymology

Coprosma is from the Greek kopros and osme meaning dung smell. Cuneata is from the Latin, meaning wedge-shaped.

Distribution and habitat

Coprosma cuneata is found in the South Island and the southern offshore islands of New Zealand. It is found from lowland to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in forest, scrub and shrubland. [3]

Conservation status

Coprosma cuneata was classed as not threatened in 2024 according to the New Zealand Threat Classification System. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 Hooker, J.D. (1844). "Coprosma cuneata". The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 1: 21., t. 15
  2. "Coprosma cuneata". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens.
  3. 1 2 3 "Coprosma cuneata | New Zealand Plant Conservation Network". nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  4. "NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 9 August 2025.