''Coprosma nitida'', the mountain currant or shining currant, is a shrub species endemic to south-east Australia. It is a shrub with small, glossy leaves, occasional spines on the end of its branchlets, and small bright red-orange fruits.

Description

''Coprosma nitida'' is erect, densely branching shrub in the family Rubiaceae, growing between 1 and 2m high. Leaves are 5-15mm in length, narrow-ovate with a distinct midrib, glossy leaf surface, and entire leaf margin, arranged oppositely on short petioles. The ends of its branchlets are often sharpened. ''C. nitida'' is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

with single, terminal flowers. These are funnel-shaped, approximately 5mm in diameter, and pale green in colour. Flowering occurs spring through summer followed by red-orange fleshy drupe or ‘fruit’, round and 10mm long.

Habitat & distribution

The genus

Coprosma ''Coprosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands. Description The name ''Copros ...

is found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, to the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

.Govaerts, R. ''et al.''
Coprosma
in ''World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.'' The Board of Trustees of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

. Published on the internet. Accessed: 10-12-19. The species ''nitida'' is found exclusively in the south-eastern states

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, some parts of Victoria and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. ''C. nitida'' most commonly occurs in subalpine woodlands between 400 and 1,000m above sea level, in well-drained soils.

References

nitida Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Tasmania Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker {{Rubioideae-stub