New Zealand field trips March 2010

[Lesley Cox]

Is the Nertera usually that yellow colour David? I remember seeing it at Tekapo once, the pear-shaped berries were orange I thought. Is this area somowhere up near the Moss Swamp?

[David Lyttle]

Lesley,

I would describe the colour in my photo as more orange than yellow. There are two other species of Netera that occur in subalpine regions, Nertera scapanioides with pear-shaped fruit and Nertera depressa with round fruit. The former apparently has reddish orange fruit and the latter orange to red so colour is likely to be quite variable.

As an aside to our Scottish friends, Nertera balforiana is named after Professor I.B. Balfour, keeper of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks David. I grow N. depressa and the fruit though very numerous are much smaller than N. balfouriana. Must try that some time. I love all those little crawling species with brightly coloured berries.

[cohan]

Thanks David. I grow N. depressa and the fruit though very numerous are much smaller than N. balfouriana. Must try that some time. I love all those little crawling species with brightly coloured berries.

something in this group is sold here as a 'houseplant' and they are charming indeed with their orange berries; i doubt they are easy/possible to keep indoors?? and are likely in that category of decorative plant sold as a slightly longer lasting alternative to cut flowers!

[David Lyttle]

Cohan,

Here are two species growing under forest in shaded conditions, Nertera depressa and Nertera villosa. Nertera depressa also grows in more open sites and probably would tolerate growing indoors. Nertera is closely allied to Coprosma; the main difference is that Nertera species are not woody. I have included two species of small Coprosmas  for comparison.

[TheOnionMan]

I have included two species of small Coprosmas  for comparison.

David, those Coprosma species are delightful, the fruits or drupes so tight and nearly enveloped by the mat.  I grew a couple Coprosma species when I lived in the milder Pacific Northwest (near Seattle, Washington), including a montane Hawaiian species collected by Roy Davidson, but this was decades ago.

[cohan]

Cohan,

Here are two species growing under forest in shaded conditions, Nertera depressa and Nertera villosa. Nertera depressa also grows in more open sites and probably would tolerate growing indoors. Nertera is closely allied to Coprosma; the main difference is that Nertera species are not woody. I have included two species of small Coprosmas  for comparison.

thanks, david--these are great little plants; shade tolerance is good for indoor plants..i wonder about temperature needs and moisture--the ones i see (sorry, not sure of the species, very tiny with many dozens of berries in a 3-4 inch pot) don't look like they would appreciate warm dry air or dry roots? maybe capillary watering?
next time i see them i will take a closer look..i can't remember now if they sell them here in winter or summer..

[Maggi Young]

I think the species generally seen sold as a house plant is Nertera granadensis

[David Lyttle]

Mark,

Was your Hawaiian Coprosma a creeping mat or a shrub? The pictures I found of Coprosma montana from Hawaii showed it to be a shrub with bright red or yellow berries.

Cohan,

Nertera depressa or something very similar is widely distributed (Australia, South Pacific, South Ameria, Hawaii). In view of this distribution different forms are likely to have varying habitat preferences and requirements.

Maggi,

Following on from my previous comment Nertera granadensis  (Mexico, Guatemala) is very similar to Nertera depressa and may or may not be the same species. Allan made a comment to this effect in Vol 1 of the NZ Flora which was published in 1961. Where the commercial plants were originally sourced is anyones guess. May be some one will be able to come up with some more information. New Zealand has about half the worlds known species of Nertera. (about 7) It is the same for Coprosma (about 50) the majority of which are woody shrubs.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark,

Was your Hawaiian Coprosma a creeping mat or a shrub? The pictures I found of Coprosma montana from Hawaii showed it to be a shrub with bright red or yellow berries.

Hard to quantify, as I remember it, it was a compact woody species, more shrub-like and upright than a mat.  It was treated as a tender plant, grown on a windowsill. It was a Coprosma "sp".

[cohan]

N granadensis looks about right
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nertera_granadensis
as i thought, they mention its not that easy as a houseplant--wanting to be cool without frost, and not too wet, but  not too dry...lol
that link also mentions a trans-continental distribution--south america, new zealand etc

[Armin]

Doug and David,
thank you for another fascinating field trip with so many exciting unknown plants to me
I could only read and google

[Lesley Cox]

N. depressa, the only one I have, grows in a pot in sun but needs lots of water or it dies off quickly. The seeds germinate freely though.

[David Lyttle]

Mark,

Was your Hawaiian Coprosma a creeping mat or a shrub? The pictures I found of Coprosma montana from Hawaii showed it to be a shrub with bright red or yellow berries.

Hard to quantify, as I remember it, it was a compact woody species, more shrub-like and upright than a mat.  It was treated as a tender plant, grown on a windowsill. It was a Coprosma "sp".

I have been looking on the internet and found another species of Coprosma that may be the plant you grew. It is Coprosma ernodeoides and has black fruit. It is described as prostate with ascending lateral branches that grow up to 20cm. It  looks to be a very distinctive and interesting plant.

We have many Coprosma "sp" here in NZ as the majority of them are small-leaved divaricating shrubs that are difficult to identify and frequently hybridise. I find identifying many of our NZ species a challenge.