''Muehlenbeckia australis'', the large-leaved muehlenbeckia or pohuehue, is a prostrate or climbing plant native to

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 ...

Description

The species grows up to tall with grey bark. The leaves are on stiff petioles and are long. Lamina is by long. It has juvenile and adult leaf forms and loses its leaves in winter. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are greenish and the fruits are juicy with black shiny seeds covered by a white, succulent cup of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s, which are fed on by various birds and lizards. Flowers bloom from late spring to autumn, with it

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s occur usually in spring and summer. Fruits are present from November to April, sometimes till June.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1786 by

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

, as ''Coccoloba australis''. It was transferred to the genus ''

Muehlenbeckia ''Muehlenbeckia'' or maidenhair is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to the borders of the Pacific, including South and North America, Papua New Guinea and Australasia. It has been introduced elsewhere, includin ...

'' in 1841 by

Carl Meissner Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...

. Some sources, including

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

, regard ''

Muehlenbeckia adpressa ''Muehlenbeckia adpressa'', commonly known as climbing lignum, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to Australia. It has thin red-brown stems up to in length. The leaves are long and wide. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia, ...

'' as a synonym of this species. Others treat them as separate species.

Ecology

''M. australis'' prefers places with plenty of sunlight and climbing support, such as forest edges, cliff faces, scrub and regenerating vegetation. With its climbing and rapid growth form, it is capable of engulfing roadside trees, and has benefited from cleared habitats created since human settlement began, and is sometimes the only native species present in such areas.

Host plant

''M. australis'' is a host plant for numerous New Zealand endemic insects including ''

Pyrgotis eudorana ''Pyrgotis eudorana'' is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is endemic in New Zealand and has been observed in both the North and South Islands. However it is regarded as a rare insect. This species inhabits native forest. Larvae excl ...

Apoctena orthropis ''Apoctena orthropis'' is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found in New Zealand, where it is found on both the North and South islands. 1990: Reassessment of ''Ctenopseustis'' Meyrick and ''Planotortrix'' Dugdale with description ...

, Argosarchus horridus,'' and ''

Clitarchus hookeri ''Clitarchus hookeri'', is a stick insect of the family (biology), family Phasmatidae, endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It is possibly New Zealand's most common stick insect. ''Clitarchus hookeri'' is often green in appearance, but can also be b ...

.''

References

External links

Citizen science observations of ''M. australis''.Images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15600466 australis Flora of New Zealand