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Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
2. Griselinia, Forst
2. Griselinia, Forst.
Shrubs or trees; branches terete or angled, transversely scarred at the nodes. Leaves alternate, often unequal at the base, broad, very coriaceous; petiole dilated into a short sheath, jointed on the branch. Flowers small, diœcious, in glabrous or pubescent panicles or racemes; pedicels jointed. Male flowers: Calyx minute, 5-toothed. Petals 5, imbricate. Stamens 5. Disc fleshy, pentagonous. Females: Calyx-tube ovoid or turbinate, limb 5-toothed. Petals valvate or wanting. Rudimentary stamens wanting. Ovary 1–2-celled; styles 3, very short, subulate, recurved; ovules solitary in each cell. Fruit a 1- or rarely 2-celled berry, 1-seeded; seed oblong, testa membranous.
A small genus of 6 species, 4 of which are natives of Chili, the remaining 2 endemic in New Zealand. The Chinese and Japanese genus Aucuba is very closely allied.
| Leaves large, 3–7 in., very unequal at the base. Petals wanting in the female flowers | 1. G. lucida. |
| Leaves smaller, 1½–4 in. long, not very unequal at the base. Petals present in both male and female flowers | 2. G. littoralis. |
| 1. | G. lucida, Forst. Prodr. n. 401.—A stout branching shrub or small tree 3–25 ft. high, often growing on rocks or epiphytic on the branches of tall forest trees; bark thick, furrowed. Leaves 3–7 in. page 239long, obliquely ovate or oblong, rounded at the tip, very unequal-sided at the base, bright yellow-green, glossy, very thick and leathery; petiole short, stout. Panicles axillary or subterminal, much branched, 3–6 in. long; rhachis and pedicels pubescent. Flowers minute, greenish; females apetalous. Berry ⅓ in. long, fleshy, dark-purple, usually 1-celled. Seed solitary.— A. Cunn. Precur. n. 639; Raoul, Choix, 46; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 98; Handb. N.Z. Fl. 105; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 41; Students' Fl. 225. Scopolia lucida, Forst. Char. Gen. t. 70.
North and South Islands: Not uncommon in woods from the North Cape to the Bluff. Puka. October–November. |
| 2. | G. littoralis, Raoul, Choix, 22, t. 19.—A round-headed tree 30–50 ft. high; trunk short, irregular, gnarled or twisted, 2–5 ft. diam.; bark rough, furrowed. Leaves 1–4 in. long, ovate or oblong-ovate, rounded at the tip, less unequal-sided at the base than in G. lucida and sometimes almost symmetrical, pale yellowish-green, thick and coriaceous, veins obscure; petiole rather slender, ½–1 in. long. Panicles axillary, 1–3 in. long, smaller than in G. lucida and sometimes reduced to a simple raceme; rhachis and pedicels pubescent. Flowers minute; both male and female with petals. Berry ¼ in. long, oblong. Seed solitary. — Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 105; Kirk, Forest Fl. t. 42; Students' Fl. 225. Pukateria littoralis, Raoul in Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser. iii. 2 (1844) 120.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island: From Mount Tutamoe (Northern Wairoa) and the Little Barrier Island southwards, but rare and local to the north of the East Cape; abundant in the South Island. Sea-level to 3500 ft. Kapuka; Papaumu; Broad-leaf. October–November. Timber strong, close-grained and durable; frequently used for house-blocks, fencing-posts, &c. |