''Pittosporum mackeei'' is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

in the Pittosporaceae family. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. The species epithet, ''mackeei'', honours Hugh Shaw MacKee, a botanist who collected for over 30 years in

, and who collected the type specimen in the high valley of la Tchamba at an altitude of 150 metres on 10 May 1967.

Description

''P. mackeei'' flowers and fruits in March, April and May. The inflorescences consist of white flowers, forming an umbel and may be axillary or terminal. Its fruits are bivalve capsules, which are smooth or weakly warty.

Conservation status

''Pittosporum mackeei'' is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. ''Pittosporum mackeei'' is an uncommon small tree, which occurs exclusively in the Ponérihouen area of

at an altitude of 100 to 500 metres above sea level. Its

area of occupancy Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open s ...

is equal to 20 km² and its

extent of occurrence Extent may refer to: Computing * Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file * Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region * Extent, a chunk of st ...

to 428 km². It occurs in just five subpopulations each of which is threatened by Rusa Deer ('' Rusa timorensis''). This deer is an invasive species thoroughly adapted to the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s of

, and the cause of the continuous decline in habitat quality of ''P. mackeei'' and other endemic plant species of New Caledonia's humid forests.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17140403 mackeei Flora of New Caledonia Endangered plants Plants described in 1997