''Myrsine kermadecensis'', commonly known as the Kermadec matipo, Kermadec myrsine, or the Kermadec mapou, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the Onagraceae, evening primrose family), are a family (biology), family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants ...

, endemic to the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total are ...

of New Zealand. It was named by

Thomas Cheeseman Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (8 June 184515 October 1923) was a New Zealand botanist. He was also a naturalist who had wide-ranging interests, such that he even described a few species of sea slugs (marine gastropod molluscs). Biography Chees ...

in 1888, and first described in 1892.

Taxonomy

Cheeseman named the species in his 1888 article ''On the flora of the Kermadec Islands; with Notes on the Fauna'', noting that the plant was common on Raoul Island, but refused to describe it as a novel species until he was able to compare with specimens of '' Myrsine crassifolia'' from

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. Cheeseman described the plant four years later, in his article ''On some Recent Additions to the New Zealand Flora'' (1892).

Description

''Myrsine kermadecensis'' on average reaches 10 m (32.80 feet) tall, rounded

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, with rough, firm bark. Leaves are 3–7 cm (1.18-2.75 inches) long, and 1–3.5 cm (0.39-1.37 inches) wide.

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 green-yellow with purple spotting, or a darker red with purple spotting.

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

are 6–9 mm (0.23-0.35 inches) wide. Cheeseman described the species as follows: Cheeseman noted that the plant was phenotypically similar to both ''Myrsine crassifolia'' and ''

Myrsine variabilis ''Myrsine variabilis'', synonym ''Rapanea variabilis'', known as the muttonwood or variable muttonwood is a tree of eastern Australia. The range of natural distribution is from near Milton (35° S) in southern New South Wales to the McIlwraith R ...

'' of Australia; with ''Myrsine kermadecensis'' having smaller leaves and longer petioles than ''Myrsine crassifolia''. When the genus ''Myrsine'' was formerly separated into ''Rapanea'' and ''Suttonia'', Cheeseman published this further description posthumously in 1925:

Distribution and habitat

''Myrsine kermadecensis'' is endemic to

Raoul Island Raoul Island (''Sunday Island'') is the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, south south-west of 'Ata Island of Tonga and north north-east of New Zealand's North Island. It has been the source of vigorous volcanic activity ...

, where it grows in the subtropical biome, primarily in drier-climate forests, but also is occasionally seen growing within wetter forests.

Conservation

No official

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

has been assigned to the species by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

yet, for it is generally out of reach within its smaller-sized range.

Uses

''Myrsine kermadecensis'' has no currently listed uses, although its

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

are edible and may have been eaten by the

Polynesians Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...

who arrived on the island in the 14th century.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17251875 Endemic flora of New Zealand Flora of the Kermadec Islands kermadecensis Plants described in 1892 Taxa named by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman