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

Coprosma australis

Coprosma lucida, commonly known as shining karamu [2], karamū [3], kāramuramu [4], shiny karamu [5], or kakaramu [6], is a shrub or tree endemic to New Zealand.

Species Description

Coprosma lucida is a plant that is typically found in the form of a shrub or tree [7]. This plant reaches a maximum height between 5 and 6 metres [8]. Furthermore, C. lucida is a vascular plant [9]. Therefore, C. lucida plants have a system of vessels transporting nutrients and water from the roots to the leaves and vice versa. C. lucida is also a dicotyledon [2]. This means that when C. lucida germinates, the emerging seedling sprouts with a pair of two leaves.

This species of Coprosma is a large-leaved species compared with other Coprosmas [10]. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface and a paler green underneath, with a leaf margin that sometimes undulates [11]. The leaves of C. lucida are typically between 12 and 17cm long [12]. The typical width of C. lucida leaves at their widest point is 3-5cm [11]. The leaves are elliptical in shape, with a decreasing width at the tip of the leaf and where the leaf meets the petiole [12]. The petiole of a plant connects the leaf to the stem. For C. lucida, the petiole is typically 1-3cm long, with a short, triangular stipule between opposite petioles [11]. This triangular green stipule is green [12], which differs from the black tip on the stipule of the otherwise similar-looking and often co-occurring Coprosma robusta. On the leaves of C. lucida, the midrib is very prominent and can be felt protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf [12] (unlike Coprosma robusta, which has an indented midrib on its upper surface).

The underside of C. lucida leaves typically has domatia [13]. Domatia are large follicles on the leaf surface that provide shelter for mites to live on the leaf and protect the leaf from invading pests and diseases. The domatia on C. lucida can be found in the junctions between the secondary veins and the midrib [8].

The roots and inner bark of C. lucida are a yellow colour, rather than dull brown like the similar C. robusta [7]. Additionally, unlike C. robusta and some other Coprosma species, C. lucida does not have a foul-smelling odour [1]. The yellow colouration of C. lucida bark is caused by the presence of anthraquinones in the bark; anthraquinones are molecules that provide a yellow dying quality to the tissue [7]. The branches of C. lucida are short and thick, with younger branches having a greener structure and older branches turning brown with the development of bark [11].

Typically, C. lucida is dioecious [14]. This means that plants of this species are either male or female and produce either pollen or seeds. However, some cases of monoecy have been observed in C. lucida, where individual plants were noted to have both male and female reproductive structures [11]. The flowers that are produced by C. lucida are present on panicles extending from the leaf axils of older branches [14]. The leaf axils are the locations where the petioles of the leaves meet the branches of the plant. The flowers of C. lucida are white or green in colouration [12].

C. lucida produces small clusters of oblong fruit that are yellow-orange to orange [7]. Each fruit has two seeds surrounded by an endocarp and a juicy pericarp [14]. At the point where the peduncle meets the fruit, the peduncle widens slightly [7]. A peduncle is a specialised stem that holds the fruit to the branch of the tree.

Range

Natural Global Range

C. lucida is endemic to New Zealand [13]. This means the species is not naturally found anywhere outside of New Zealand.

New Zealand Range

C. lucida is a plant that lives in warm, temperate regions [15]. Within New Zealand, C. lucida is typically found in low coastal and montane forests [13]. C. lucida is found throughout both mainland islands of New Zealand and some smaller surrounding islands, extending as far south as Big South Cape Island [11]. The latitudinal range of C. lucida in New Zealand is between 34.42°S and 46.75°S [16]. However, C. lucida is rare on Stewart Island, where deer populations have drastically reduced the population [17]. Smale et al. also noted that C. lucida can be found growing in geothermal soils of the Taupō Volcanic Zone [6].

Habitat

C. lucida is an understory plant [13]. C. lucida can also be found in forest gaps, at forest margins, and in regenerating forest sites [14]. As an understory or sub-canopy plant, C. lucida is often associated with Kauri forests [18]. Additionally, C. lucida has been noted as an epiphyte, including as an epiphyte on tree ferns [19]. After disturbance events, C. lucida is an early successional plant [3]. Furthermore, C. lucida can be consistently found growing in geothermal zones [9]. Due to the preference of C. lucida for coastal and montane habitats, the plant is present at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1130 metres [11].

Ecology

Life Cycle/Phenology

C. lucida is a fast-growing and short-lived shrub [6]. C. lucida is also an evergreen shrub and does not lose its leaves over winter [14]. Once the plant has reached maturity, C. lucida has flowers and fruit for extended portions of the year [13]. The flowers appear during the spring season, the fruit begins to develop during the next winter, and fruit is not fully ripened until the following autumn [20]. This means that the fruiting season from one year often overlaps with the fruiting season of the next, leading to plants that produce fruits of two different growth stages at one time [13]. Overall, the fruit of this plant takes about 17 months to develop after the flower is fertilised [20]. The seeds of C. lucida are then dispersed through birds [21].

Diet and Foraging

When growing in geothermal areas, C. lucida is found in soils at the cooler end of the soil temperature gradient [9]. In addition, C. lucida has a tolerance to shade [21]. This means that C. lucida can grow in some areas where denser canopies prevent light from penetrating to the forest floor. The frost resistance of C. lucida is between -7°C and -8°C, and the plant has a hardiness zone rating of 8 [16].

Predators, Parasites, and Diseases

The foliage of C. lucida is a food source for the introduced species of white-tailed deer and brush-tailed possums [17]. Alternatively, the plant’s vessels are a target for the xylem-feeding spittlebug Carystoterpa fingens, to which C. lucida is one of many host plants [22]. Deer have been observed gnawing on the bark of the shrub as well [17]. Finally, birds consume the fruit of C. lucida since birds are the primary dispersal agent of the seeds [21].

Cultural Uses

C. lucida had multiple uses for the indigenous people of New Zealand. The bark of C. lucida trees forms an anthraquinone molecule called lucidin that can be used as a dye pigment [23]. The size of C. lucida fruit was used by the indigenous Māori to assess forest health from year to year [4].  

References

  1. 1 2 Webb, C. J. (1996). "A rose by any other name: Two problems of scent in the naming and typification of New Zealand plants". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 34 (2): 281–283. Bibcode:1996NZJB...34..281W. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1996.10410693.
  2. 1 2 Rogers, H. C.; Clarkson, B. D. (2022). "Restoration strategies for three Dacrycarpus dacrydiodes (A. Rich.) de Laub., Kahikatea remnants in Hamilton city, New Zealand". Forests. 13 (10): 1633. doi:10.3390/f13101633.
  3. 1 2 Tulod, A. M.; Norton, D. A. (2020). "Regeneration of native woody species following artificial gap formation in an early-successional forest in New Zealand". Ecological Management & Restoration. 21 (3): 229–236. Bibcode:2020EcoMR..21..229T. doi:10.1111/emr.12429. S2CID 224949863.
  4. 1 2 Lyver, P. O. B.; Timoti, P.; Jones, C. J.; Richardson, S. J.; Tahi, B. L.; Greenhalgh, S. (2017). "An indigenous community-based monitoring system for assessing forest health in New Zealand". Biodiversity and Conservation. 26 (13): 3183–3212. Bibcode:2017BiCon..26.3183L. doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1142-6.
  5. ↑ Kelly, M. M.; Toft, R. J.; Gaskett, A. C. (2013). "Pollination and insect visitors to the putatively brood-site deceptive endemic spurred helmit orchid, Corybas cheesemanii". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 51 (3): 155–167. Bibcode:2013NZJB...51..155K. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2013.795905. S2CID 84939633.
  6. 1 2 3 Smale, M. C.; Whaley, P. T.; Smale, P. N. (2001). "Ecological restoration of native forest at Aratiatia, North Island, New Zealand". Restoration Ecology. 9 (1): 28–37. Bibcode:2001ResEc...9...28S. doi:10.1046/j.1526-100x.2001.009001028.x. S2CID 84695249.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Taylor, M. G. (1961). "A key to the Coprosmas of New Zealand - Part II". Tuatara. 9 (2): 43–64.
  8. 1 2 O'Connell, D. M.; Lee, W. G.; Monks, A.; Dickinson, K. J. M. (2010). "Does microhabitat structure affect foliar mite assemblages?". Ecological Entomology. 35 (3): 317–328. Bibcode:2010EcoEn..35..317O. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2010.01185.x. S2CID 84733096.
  9. 1 2 3 Smale, M. C.; Wiser, S. K.; Bergin, M. J.; Fitzgerald, N. B. (2018). "A classification of the geothermal vegetation of the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 48 (1): 21–38. Bibcode:2018JRSNZ..48...21S. doi:10.1080/03036758.2017.1322619. S2CID 133647200.
  10. ↑ O'Connell, D. M.; Monks, A.; Lee, W. G.; Downs, T. M.; Dickinson, K. J. M. (2010). "Leaf domatia: carbon-limited indirect defence". Oikos. 119 (10): 1591–1600. Bibcode:2010Oikos.119.1591O. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18235.x.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Landcare Research. "Coprosma lucida". Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. "Coprosma lucida". Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Monks, A.; O'Connell, D. M.; Lee, W. G.; Bannister, J. M.; Dickinson, K. J. M. (2007). "Benefits associated with the domatia mediated tritophic mutualism in the shrub Coprosma lucida". Oikos. 116 (5): 873–881. doi:10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.15654.x.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Burrows, C. J. (1996). "Germination behaviour of the seeds of seven New Zealand woody plant species". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 45 (1): 1–10. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.45.18.
  15. ↑ Wyse, S. V. (2014). "Nitrate reductase activity in plant species of varied spatial association with acidic soils beneath Agathis australis". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 52 (2): 213–223. Bibcode:2014NZJB...52..213W. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2013.836111. S2CID 84323055.
  16. 1 2 Bannister, P.; Lord, J. M. (2006). "Comparative winter frost resistance of plant species from southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America grown in a common environment (Dunedin, New Zealand)". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 44 (2): 109–119. Bibcode:2006NZJB...44..109B. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2006.9513011. S2CID 85015902.
  17. 1 2 3 Veblen, T. T.; Stewart, G. H. (1980). "Comparison of forest structure and regeneration on Bench and Stewart Islands, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 3: 50–68.
  18. ↑ Wyse, S. V.; Wilmshurst, J. M.; Burns, B. R.; Perry, G. L. W. (2018). "New Zealand forest dynamics: A review of past and present vegetation responses to disturbance, and development of conceptual forest models". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 42 (2): 87–106. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.42.18.
  19. ↑ Brock, J. M. R.; Burns, B. R. (2021). "Pattens of woody plant epiphytism on tree ferns in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 45 (1): 1–10. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.45.18.
  20. 1 2 McEwan, J. M. (1966). "Development of the fruit of Coprosma lucida". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 4 (4): 515–521. Bibcode:1966NZJB....4..515M. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1966.10430180.
  21. 1 2 3 Krull, C. R.; Choquenot, D.; Burns, B. R.; Stanley, M. C. (2013). "Feral pigs in a temperate rainforest ecosystem: Disturbance and ecological impacts". Biological Invasions. 15 (10): 2193–2204. Bibcode:2013BiInv..15.2193K. doi:10.1007/s10530-013-0444-9. S2CID 254292521.
  22. ↑ Sandanayaka, W. R. M.; Jia, Y.; Charles, J. G. (1986). "EPG technique as a tool to reveal host plant acceptance by xylem sap-feeding insects". Journal of Applied Entomology. 137 (7): 519–529. doi:10.1111/jen.12025. S2CID 85077484.
  23. ↑ Cooksey, C. J. (2020). "Quirks of dye nomenclature. 14. Madder: Queen of dyes". Biotechnic and Histochemistry. 95 (6): 474–482. doi:10.1080/10520295.2020.1714079. PMID 32022588. S2CID 211036132.
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