Kāpuka, New Zealand Broadleaf, Broadleaf.

Shrub or tree to 15 (–17) m high, glabrous. Leaves alternate, simple; lamina elliptic to orbicular or ovate, 3–9 (–13.3) cm long, 2–7 (–13) cm wide, obtuse to rounded (sometimes ± truncate) and oblique (asymmetric) to equal base, entire, revolute margin, obtuse to rounded and occasionally shallowly emarginate apex, leathery, glossy green above, less glossy and pale yellow-green below; petiole 0.8–3.5 (–4) cm long, partially sheathing the stem. Male inflorescences paniculate, to 5 cm long. Male flowers small, c. 2 mm long, yellow-green, on pedicels to 2 (–3) mm long; sepals 5, minute; petals 5, c. 1 mm long; stamens ˂ 1 mm long. Female inflorescences paniculate or racemose, to 7 (–10) cm long. Female flowers on pedicels to 7 mm long; sepals and petals as per male flowers; styles 3. Fruit obovoid, c. 6–7 mm long, c. 4 mm wide, green at first, maturing black, 1-seeded.

"Griselinia littoralis superficially resembles Coprosma repens A.Rich. (Rubiaceae), both species have leathery leaves with a glossy adaxial leaf surface. However, the two species can easily be distinguished by their leaf arrangement: Coprosma repens has opposite leaves whereas G. littoralis has alternate leaves." (Baker 2009).

Flowers October–January.

Naturalised.

Native to New Zealand. Introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant; sparingly naturalised in Tasmania in Strahan; cultivated records include Hobart in Tasmania, Melbourne in Victoria, and Mount Tomah in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.

Recorded from native forest and disturbed scrub with other weedy species; garden escape.

Resistant to salt-laden winds and will withstand drought (Rodd 1996: 235). Possibly spread by birds eating and depositing seeds (Baker 1666 et al., Strahan, Tas.).

Tas.: Strahan, Hogarth Falls Peoples Park, 21 Nov. 2005, M.L. Baker 1666, A.M. Gray & K. Stewart (HO n.v.); Strahan, remnant forest behind Post Office, 21 Nov. 2005, M.L. Baker 1670, A.M. Gray & K. Stewart (AD n.v., CANB n.v., HO n.v., MEL, NSW n.v.); Strahan, W side of Customs House, Nov. 2005, T. Rudman s.n. (HO n.v.).

Planted in gardens as an ornamental, often as a hedge, including culitvars with variegated leaves (Rodd 1996, Ellison 1999).

A.N. Rodd, The Ultimate Book of Trees & Shrubs for Australian Gardens 235 (1996); D. Ellison, Cultivated Plants of the World 279 (1999), cultivars; R. Phillips & M. Rix, The Botanical Garden 1: 331 (2002); M.L. Baker, Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 141(2): 190, pl. 3 (2007).

Allan, H.H. (1961). Flora of New Zealand. Volume I. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. (Government Printer: Wellington); Griselinia pp. 442–443, in Cornaceae pp. 440–443.

Baker, M.L. (2007). Contributions to a catalogue of alien plants in Tasmania II. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 141(2): 187–196.

Baker, M.L. (2009). Griseliniaceae, version 2009:1, in de Salas, M.F. (ed.), Flora of Tasmania Online. 2 pp. (Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery: Hobart). [accessed 13 March 2020]

Baker, M.L., Wapstra, M. & Lawrence, D. (2019). An annotated census of the lesser-known naturalised plants of Tasmania. Muelleria 38: 27–69.

de Salas, M.F. & Baker, M.L. (2017). A Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania, including Macquarie Island, 2017 edition. (Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart).

Dillon, M.O. & Muñoz-Schick, M. (1993). A revision of the dioecious genus Griselinia (Griseliniaceae), including a new species from the coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Brittonia 45: 261–274.

Ellison, D. (1999). Cultivated Plants of the World. (New Holland: London).

Phillips, R. & Rix, M. (2002). The Botanical Garden: 1 Trees and Shrubs. (Macmillan: London).

Rodd, A.N. (1996). The Ultimate Book of Trees & Shrubs for Australian Gardens. (Random House: Milsons Point); Griselinia treated in Cornaceae.

Published 13 March 2020.