Coprosma quadrifida

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Coprosma quadrifida
Coprosma quadrifida.JPG
Coprosma quadrifida
Mount Toolebewong, Victoria
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. quadrifida
Binomial name
Coprosma quadrifida
(Labill.) B.L.Rob.

Coprosma quadrifida is a dioecious shrub of the family Rubiaceae native to southeastern Australia. First described as Canthium quadrifidum by Labillardiere, it was given its current name by B. L. Robinson in 1910. [1] Typically found at damp sites within woodlands, Eucalyptus forests or cool-temperate rainforests, it prefers sheltered slopes or sites near water sources. They are able to withstand frost and are salt tolerant. The species is also known as the Prickly Currant Bush. [2]

Contents

Description

These plants are an erect open to dense shrub that can grow to between 2-5m tall. Seed germination can take over six months, with domestically used seed undergoing stratification to reduce germination to 2–4 weeks. Branches remain slender, often tapering to a spine at the point. Like other related species, such as Coprosma nitida, C. quadrifida also displays pubescent branchlets that are spine shaped. [3]

Leaves

Leaves are of a dull green colouration and lanceolate, or broad ovate, shaped. They are small, typically 5-15mm long and 2-5mm wide. The leaves are also without hairs and display clear reticulate venation underneath. Leaf margins are typically flat or slightly recurved. [4]

Flowers

Flowering occurs from August to January, with flowers of a greenish coloration. The flowers are sub-sessile, and unisexual, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants. Flowers are often solitary and are terminal on short branchlets. Male flowers have a cup-shaped calyx and a funnel-shaped corolla. Female flowers have a deeply toothed calyx and a tubular corolla. [4]

Fruit

Fruit and leaves of Coprosma quadrifida. Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, Australia. Coprosma quadrifida fruit.jpg
Fruit and leaves of Coprosma quadrifida. Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, Australia.

Fruiting occurs in late summer or early autumn, typically January to March, and results in a drupe style fruit. The fruit is small and globular or egg shaped. It is glossy and ranges in colouration from orange to dark red. The fruit is crowned by the remanent calyx of the flower. [5] The fruit is edible and can be used in cooking, typically in salads or puddings.

Historical Description

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that Coprosma Billardieri common names included "Native Currant" [sic] and that Indigenous Australians of Coranderrk Station, Victoria, called it "Morr" and that "This plant bears a small round drupe, about the size of a small pea. Mr. Backhouse states that (over half a century ago) when British fruits were scarce, it was made into puddings by some of the settlers of Tasmania, but the size and number of the seeds were objectionable." [6]

Distribution

Individuals of this species have been found in all eastern states of Australia, but it is more common in the south-eastern states (Tasmania, Victoria and in southern New South Wales), due to the more temperate climate. [7]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Coprosma</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Correa lawrenceana</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Leucopogon parviflorus</i> Species of plant

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<i>Alyxia buxifolia</i> Species of plant

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<i>Coprosma repens</i> Species of flowering plant

Coprosma repens is a species of flowering shrub or small tree of the genus Coprosma, in the family Rubiaceae, native to New Zealand. Common names include taupata, tree bedstraw, mirror bush, looking-glass bush, New Zealand laurel and shiny leaf.

<i>Correa backhouseana</i> Species of plant

Correa backhouseana is a species of rounded shrub that is endemic to coastal and near-coastal areas of southern Australia. It has elliptical to egg-shaped or round leaves that are densely hairy on the lower surface, and cylindrical to funnel-shaped, cream-coloured to pale green or red and yellow flowers.

<i>Coprosma rhamnoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Coprosma rhamnoides is an endemic shrub in New Zealand. It forms a small shrub up to 2 m tall. The leaves are very small, simple and variable in shape. The inconspicuous flowers are unisexual and believed to be wind pollinated. It is widespread in occurrence and can be the dominant small leaved divaricating shrub in some locations

<i>Trema tomentosum <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> viride</i> Variety of tree

Trema tomentosum var. viride is a forest plant. In Australia it occurs from Twofold Bay in New South Wales to far northern Queensland, New Guinea and Western New Guinea. It had been recorded near Mallacoota, but is now presumed extinct in the state of Victoria.

<i>Coprosma propinqua</i> Species of plant

Coprosma propinqua is a New Zealand plant of the genus Coprosma in the family Rubiaceae. Its Māori name is mingimingi, a name which is also applied to closely related species such as C. dumosa, C. rhamnoides, C. virescens and C. crassifolia. It is a small-leaved shrub or tree which grows 3 to 6 metres high. It has divaricating branches, and is common in swampy forest, in scrub, along stream banks and in stony places. It has a wide distribution, ranging from Mangonui in the North Island as far south as Stewart Island. It grows from sea level to 460 metres.

<i>Coprosma arborea</i> Species of plant

Coprosma arborea is a species found in New Zealand, traditionally known in Māori by the name mamangi. The flowers have insignificant petals and are wind pollinated, with long anthers and stigmas. The fruit is a non-poisonous juicy berry, containing two small seeds. A typical occurrence location of the species is in the Hamilton Ecological District in New Zealand's North Island.

<i>Coprosma nitida</i> Species of plant

Coprosma nitida, the mountain currant or shining currant, is a shrub species endemic to south-east Australia. It is a shrub with small, glossy leaves, occasional spines on the end of its branchlets, and small bright red-orange fruits.

<i>Coprosma perpusilla</i> Species of flowering plant

Coprosma perpusilla, commonly known as creeping coprosma, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in Australia, New Zealand and on some subantarctic islands. The specific epithet comes from the Latin per (very) and pusillus, referring to the growth habit.

<i>Psydrax oleifolia</i> Species of plant

Psydrax oleifolia, commonly known as wild lemon or brush myrtle, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to eastern and inland Australia,.

<i>Coprosma rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Coprosma rotundifolia is a native forest shrub of New Zealand found on the North, South, and Stewart Islands.

<i>Coprosma acerosa</i> Species of plant

Coprosma acerosa, commonly called sand coprosma, is a shrub that is native to New Zealand. It is a coastal plant found on the landward side of sand dunes. C. acerosa is a low, spreading shrub with yellow-brownish leaves, red bark and blue fruit.

<i>Coprosma virescens</i> Species of plant

Coprosma virescens is an endemic New Zealand plant in the genus Coprosma of the family Rubiaceae. Its Māori name is mingimingi, a name which is also applied to closely related species such as C. dumosa, C. rhamnoides, C. propinqua and C. crassifolia. It is a small-leaved shrub or tree which grows 2 to 3 metres high. It has very slender, more or less glabrous divaricating branches. The small leaves are petiolate with petioles from 2mm to 5mm long. The leaves narrow suddenly at the petiole and may be up to 9 millimetres (0.35 in) long and 6 millimetres (0.24 in) wide with wavy margins or a few blunt teeth throughout South Island in lower montane forest and scrubland. The apetalous male flowers occur in axillary clusters of one to two on very short branches. Female flowers are found on their own at the ends of short branchlets.

<i>Coprosma moorei</i> Species of plant

Coprosma moorei, commonly known as blue matcurrant or turquoise coprosma, is a small, mat forming, prostrate shrub in the Rubiaceae family. It is native to highland areas of Tasmania and Eastern Victoria.

<i>Atractocarpus hirtus</i> Species of plant in the family Rubiaceae

Atractocarpus hirtus, commonly known as the hairy gardenia or native loquat, is a plant in the madder family Rubiaceae, a large family of some 6,500 species with a cosmopolitan distribution. This species is endemic to northeastern Queensland, Australia.

<i>Leptomeria drupacea</i> Species of flowering plant

Leptomeria drupacea, also known as the pale currant bush, is an endemic Australian hemi-parasitic erect shrub. It occurs commonly in dry woodlands across Tasmania Australia and in some parts of Victoria and Queensland. It has long yellowish-green slender branchlets that often give a broom-like appearance.

References

  1. "Coprosma quadrifida (Labill.) B.L.Rob". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. , PlantNet: New South Wales Flora Online, Coprosma quadrifida.
  3. [Thompson, R.I. 2010: A new species of Leptostigma (Rubiaceae: Coprosminae) and notes on the Coprosminae in Australia. Muelleria, 28(1):29-39.]
  4. 1 2 , Flora of Victoria, Coprosma quadrifida.
  5. , Cardinia Indigenous Plant Guide, Coprosma quadrifida.
  6. J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
  7. , Woolshed Thurgoona Landcare Group, Coprosma quadrifida.