found in Stuart park, titahi bay, growing on the same rocky outcrop as Melicytus obovatus. Can you confirm this as thick leaf mahoe. Delighted to find both within 2 M of each other!
This is the Melicytus obovatus growing on the same outcrop.Its growing amongst a large Mingimingi, I found the thick leaf when clearing gorse off the rocky outcrop.
Your first image shows Melicytus crassifolius s.s. the second Coprosma propinqua var. latiuscula (try as hard as I cannot see any M. aff. obovatus in that image). However both do grow together between Rocky Bay and Titahi Bay and they also hybridise there - the hybrids appear to be triploid..
What is Coprosma propinqua var. latiuscula? It's not on the NZPCN page on Coprosma Peter.
Its the name Allan (1961) created for the flat (decumbent) race of Coprosma propinqua you find around the Wellington and northern Cook Strait coasts (though it extends as far north as Kawhia according to Michael Head's work on Coprosma). A similar entity exists on the Chatham Islands as well. Its not on the NZPCN website - yet - because we (NZPCN and those with whom we consult) need to decide what to do about it. The late Tony Druce did not recognise it - but many people still do. As you will appreciate Coprosma propinqua is very variable and it needs a proper taxonomic revision to make sense of.
I agree with Peter. C. p. var. latiuscula occurs as far south as Kaitorete Spit where it is common on recently stabilised cobbles.
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