Coprosma propinqua A. Cunn.

TSO logo

Sponsor this page

For information about how you could sponsor this page, see How You Can Help

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Coprosma propinqua' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/coprosma/coprosma-propinqua/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

Glossary

axillary
Situated in an axil.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
drupe
A fleshy dehiscent or indehiscent fruit with one to several seeds each enclosed in a hard endocarp (the stone).
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
hybrid
Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).
linear
Strap-shaped.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Coprosma propinqua' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/coprosma/coprosma-propinqua/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

A shrub or small tree 6 to 20 ft high; shoots opposite, spreading often at nearly right angles to the stem, very slender, finely downy at first. Leaves opposite or in opposite clusters, linear, 14 to 35 in. long, 112 to 18 in. wide, scarcely stalked, curved, mostly blunt. Flowers of no beauty, axillary, solitary or two to four together; females with a four-toothed calyx, the corolla tubular, 18 in. long, four-lobed; stamens absent. Male flowers with no calyx, corolla 16 in. long, bell-shaped, four- or five-lobed; stamens four or five. Fruit a glabrous drupe 14 in. long, pale blue to blue-black. Bot. Mag., t. 9286.

Native of New Zealand, with a wide distribution from the North Island south to Stewart Island. Its chief attraction is in its fruits. It succeeded well with the late Lord Headfort at Kells, Co. Meath, and plants of Stewart Island should be pretty hardy in our average climate. It most frequently grows wild in damp places.

C. cunninghamii Hook, f., which is in commerce, is now thought to be part of a hybrid swarm between C. propinqua and C. robusta. It is an erect shrub with narrow, leathery leaves up to 2 in. long and pale yellow fruits. It is likely to be very tender.

C. parviflora Hook, f., was given an Award of Merit when shown from Exbury in 1945 but is not established in cultivation. It is related to C. propinqua but the fruits are purplish or (as in the form shown) white. It was at first con­sidered to be C. rigida, and is discussed by the late Francis Hanger under that name in Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 69, p. 291.