Coprosma nitida

Coprosma nitida, the mountain currant or shining currant, is a shrub species endemic to south-east Australia. It is a shrub with small, glossy leaves, occasional spines on the end of its branchlets, and small bright red-orange fruits.

Coprosma nitida
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Coprosma
Species:
C. nitida
Binomial name
Coprosma nitida

Description

Coprosma nitida is erect, densely branching shrub in the family Rubiaceae, growing between 1 and 2m high. Leaves are 5-15mm in length, narrow-ovate with a distinct midrib, glossy leaf surface, and entire leaf margin, arranged oppositely on short petioles.[2] The ends of its branchlets are often sharpened.[3] C. nitida is dioecious with single, terminal flowers. These are funnel-shaped, approximately 5mm in diameter, and pale green in colour. Flowering occurs spring through summer followed by red-orange fleshy drupe or ‘fruit’, round and 10mm long.[4]

Habitat & distribution

The genus Coprosma is found in Australia, New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, to the Juan Fernández Islands.[5] The species nitida is found exclusively in the south-eastern states Tasmania, some parts of Victoria and New South Wales. C. nitida most commonly occurs in subalpine woodlands between 400 and 1,000m above sea level, in well-drained soils.[4]

gollark: "Had" to?
gollark: Yes, which is now fixed, which is good.
gollark: The new version is fine.
gollark: Nothing about "purpose" or anything, just "don't fully undrstand".
gollark: The main problem I had with that rule is that it was originally "they don't fully understand".

References
  1. "Coprosma nitida". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. Jordan, Greg. "Coprosma nitida (Rubiaceae) 2:269". Key to Tasmanian Vascular Plants.
  3. "Species information: Coprosma nitida". www.utas.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  4. "Flora of Victoria". vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  5. Govaerts, R. et al.. Coprosma in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 10-12-19.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.