Phil Bendle Collection:Pittosporum huttonianum (Hutton s kohuhu)

Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Apiales
Genus: Pittosporum
Family: Pittosporaceae
Species: P. huttonianum
Binomial name: Pittosporum huttonianum
Synonyms: Pittosporum huttonianum var. huttonianum, Pittosporum huttonianum var. fasciatum
Common names: Hutton's kohuhu.

Pittosporum huttonianum is a small tree with spreading branches forming an open habit and growing to about 10m in height. It has brown to grey-black bark. It is endemic to Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula. It is also present in the western Waikato from Raglan to Marokopa in the North Island. It grows from coast to montane areas up to 700m. It is common in regenerating forest, or along ridge lines, on cliff tops, along slip scars, rock tors and in limestone country fringing razorbacks and dolines (tomo) shafts.
The mature leaves are large and leathery are up to 12 cm long and 5 cm wide. The young new growth branchlets, leaves, some flower parts and buds are at first covered with floccose white, white-grey to faintly fulvous tomentum with pale hairs. The base of the leave's midribs is sometimes reddish.
Flowering occurs October - November and they are 1cm in diameter and are a very dark red. The 1.5- 2 cm fruit capsules are present throughout the year.

Taxonomic Notes from NZPCN. "In parts of its range, this species appears to grade with P. colensoi and P. tenuifolium. Many botanists informally regard P. huttonianum as a subspecies of P. tenuifolium. Further research into its status, perhaps by using an appropriate range of molecular markers might clarify its status. NZPCN retain the species because for most of its range it is a well-marked species and in that range, it is often sympatric with P. tenuifolium."

For more information, visit: http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=1136

Photographed at Otari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton's Bush Reserve. Wellington.  [1]

[2]

The surface of a leaf.
[3]

The undersurface of a leaf.
[4]  

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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