''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.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, as ''Coccoloba australis''. It was transferred to the genus '' Muehlenbeckia'' in 1841 by Carl Meissner.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'' as a synonym of this 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 descriptio ...
, Argosarchus horridus
''Argosarchus'' is a monotypic genus in the family Phasmatidae containing the single species ''Argosarchus horridus'', or the New Zealand bristly stick insect, a stick insect endemic to New Zealand (''Argosarchus spiniger'' is now considered a j ...
,'' and ''Clitarchus hookeri
''Clitarchus hookeri'', is a stick insect of the family Phasmatidae, 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 brown or red. Alongside the ...
.''
References
External links
Citizen science observations of ''M. australis''.Images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15600466
australis
Flora of New Zealand