The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Pittosporum dallii

Etymology

Pittosporum: pitch seed

Common Name(s)

Dalls Pittosporum/kohuhu

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable

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 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable
2004 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable

Qualifiers

2012 - CD, RR
2009 - CD, RR

Authority

Pittosporum dallii Cheeseman

Family

Pittosporaceae

Brief Description

Small tree with dark twigs bearing leathery leaves with teeth along the upper half of the margin, clusters of cream flowers and hard capsules inhabiting Northwest Nelson. Capsules 12mm long, longer than wide, splitting into two to show the black sticky seeds in a orange pith.

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

PITDAL

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, where it is confined to North West Nelson. All known populations occur within the Kahurangi National Park and have a distribution centered on the Cobb and Takaka Rivers.

Habitat

Silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii (Hook.f.) Oerst.) forest and subalpine scrub. Most (if not all) current occurrences are on or near cliff faces or walking tracks, locations less prone to the influence of browsing animals.

Features

Small spreading tree up to 4–6 × 3–4m, forming a broad canopy crown. Bark dark grey to grey-black. Branches stout, ascending to spreading. Branchlets initially purple-black to reddish-purple or brown, sparsely to distinctly puberulent, maturing grey, glabrate. Leaves alternate to subopposite or whorled, crowded toward branchlet tips; petioles stout, 3–20mm, initially sparsely puberulent, glabrate; lamina 50–100 × 20–40mm, oblong-elliptic, lanceolate, lanceolate-elliptic, rarely obovate, apex obtuse, acute or acuminate, base attenuate, cuneate or acute, margins coarsely serrate, subentire or entire, thickened, slightly revolute, dark green-brown to dark-green above, paler beneath, glabrous, coriaceous; midrib raised above and beneath, secondary veins evident, 14–18 either side of midrib. Inflorescences in condensed, terminal, compound umbels; peduncles subtended by a whorl of leaves and numerous caducous, glabrous, ciliate bud scales 15–22mm, peduncles and pedicels 4-angular, 10–20mm long, accrescent in fruit, white-tomentose, each peduncle bearing 1–6 pedicels, each subtended by caducous, glabrous, linear bracts up to 10mm long. Flowers night-fragrant, gynodioecious. Sepals 5.0–6.0 × 0.5–1.0mm, linear, glabrous; petals 8.0–9.0 × 3.0–3.5mm obovate, linear-oblong, obtuse, spreading from base, white or cream, sometimes with red stripes. Male flowers: stamens 4, filaments 7–8mm, cream, anthers 2–3 × 3mm, yellow, reflexed; gynoecium rudimentary or functional. female; flowers: stamens 4 rudimentary (often reduced to staminodes); ovary 1.5–3.3 × 0.5–1.5mm, globose to ellipsoid, glabrous; style c. 2mm; stigma truncate. Capsules in dense clusters, 15 × 9mm, ellipsoid, ellipsoid-oblong, 2-valved, valves green, greenish brown to black, coriaceous, deciduous, immersed in orange-yellow resinous pulp. Muciliage dark red or orange-yellow. Seeds 20–28, trigonal to irregular, lustrous dark red, held together by a persistent papery, cone-shaped endocarp, long after the valves have dropped.

Similar Taxa

A very distinctive species, immediately recognised by the dark purple-black or reddish-purple stems, rather broad, lanceolate, dark brown green toothed leaves, and profuse clusters of creamy white flowers.

Flowering

November to December (-January)

Flower Colours

Cream

Fruiting

January to May

Propagation Technique

Easy from fresh seed. Can be grown with some difficulty from semi hardwood cuttings. Grafts easily. A remarkably tough and resilient species which can tolerate extremes of drought and moisture. It makes an excellent shrub for a small garden but is rather slow growing, and can be fickle to flower. It does best, and is more likely to flower in cooler places and it should be planted in semi-shade.

Threats

Threatened at all known localities by deer and possums browse.

Chromosome No.

2n = 24

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 19 Dec 2014