Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants
Small Shrub Epiphytes
Small Shrub Epiphytes
The two species of Pittosporum and one each of Senecio and Coprosma in this category are not usually more than a metre high when growing as epiphytes, but may attain small tree size on the ground. All are endemic to New Zealand.
Pittosporum cornifolium is found throughout the North Island and although it is quite a common plant, many people are unaware of its existence, perched as it is inconspicuously in tree crowns. The stems of this plant are spindly and often hang down below the branches. The leaves are thin but firm with prominent veins and the flowers are small and yellowish red. The round, woody seed capsules are a surprise. When they open they reveal a bright red lining and shiny black seeds embedded in sticky, bright yellow fluid.
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Figure 44 The small epiphytic shrub Brachyglottis kirkii growing from an asteliad nest.
Photo: B. V. Sneddon.
Figure 45 (opposite) The large shrub epiphyte puka (Griselinia lucida) on a kahikatea. The crown of the puka is just below an asteliad nest and its main descending root is to the left of the tree trunk. Te Marua, southern North Island.
Photo: M. D. King.
Brachyglottis (Senecio) kirkii is found in lowland forests throughout the North Island but has not been recorded from the South Island. Its growth form has been described as 'candelabra-like' (Fig. 44). The leaves are soft and somewhat fleshy and the flowers, up to 5 cm in diameter, pure white and crowded into dense heads.
The thick and shiny-leaved karamu (Coprosma lucida) is best known as a ground plant in shrubby, early forest regrowth on drier sites, but is also reasonably common as an epiphyte in asteliad nests. The species is found throughout the country but presumably is common as an epiphyte only within the range of nest epiphytes.