Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Dodonaea
Species: D. viscosa
Binomial name: Dodonaea viscosa
Synonyms: Dodonaea viscosa var. angustifolia, Dodonaea viscosa f. angustifolia, Dodonaea viscosa subsp. Angustifolia, Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima.
Common name: Akeake, Hopbush, Sticky hopbush, Switch sorrel,
The Maori name for the shrub, akeake, means "forever and ever".
Dodonaea viscosa is Indigenous. New Zealand: Three Kings, North, South and Chatham Islands and is now widespread throughout the world. Dodonaea viscosa is New Zealand's sole species of the genus: Dodonaea. It is a shrub growing >3 m tall, and rarely >9 m tall. The leaves are simple elliptical, 4–7.5 cm long and 1–1.5 cm broad, alternate in arrangement, and they secrete a resinous substance. Hence a common name Sticky Hopbush. A study of leaves yielded carbohydrates, flavonoids, fixed oil, proteins and amino acids, saponins, steroids and sterols, tannins, and triterpenoids.
The flowers (7mm) are dioecious; small, yellow-green, lacking petals. The male and female flowers are generally on different trees. The yellow to orange-red flowers are yellow to orange-red and are produced on panicles about 2.5 cm in length. Flowering occurs spring to mid-summer.
The fruit is a capsule (1.5 cm wide) with thin, flat, papery, rounded wings. This 3 sided pod contains 3 dark brown or black seeds. The pod is green, ageing to pink to tan. The fruits have been used as a substitute for hops.
The bark separates into long stripes. The wood is extremely tough and durable, and New Zealand's Maori have used Akeake to fashion clubs and other weapons.
A branch is laden with flowers (March)
[1]
An adult tree
[2]
A young tree planted on a sub-division end of Smiths Road, New Plymouth. Photographed early February,
[3]
The upstanding leaves.
[4]
Male flowers November.
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Developing winged fruit.
Pale yellow winged fruits
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Winged fruit capsules.
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The dried wing fruit.
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The top surface of a leaf.
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The surface of a young leaf.
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The underside of a leaf.
[13]
Sometimes the leaves can have a reddish tinge.
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The trunk of a young tree.
[15]
Trunk of a mature Akeake
[16]
Below is Dodonaea viscosa 'Purpurea' (Purple-leafed Hop-bush) which is a cultivar. It is a rapidly growing, evergreen shrub reaches 4m in height. It is more upright when young and spreading out with age (2m). It has lanceolate bronzy-green 10 cm long leaves which turn purple in cooler weather. Tolerates some shade but the colour is better if grown in full sun. Tiny green flowers in clusters mid-summer followed by brown maple-like seed capsules in late summer.
[17]
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
