''Hoheria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of six 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 ...

s in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

. All are

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 else ...

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 genus name is a

latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ization of the Māori language name, ''houhere''. That name, as well as lacebark and ribbonwood, are often used as common names. The name ''lacebark'' comes from the lace-like fibrous inner bark layer. ''Hoheria'' are mostly

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

, with ''Hoheria glabrata'' (mountain ribbonwood) a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

species. They are large shrubs or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s growing tall, bearing large quantities of fragrant, 5-petalled white

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 in summer or autumn. The flowers are attractive to butterflies. They are borne in axils on jointed peduncles and produce hard, dry

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

capsules. The leaves are serrate to dentate and ovate to lanceolate in shape. Juvenile foliage may persist on young plants for several years, and may have a metallic cast. Some species are cultivated in New Zealand and Great Britain as ornamental plants. '' H. sexstylosa'' withstands temperatures down to , and '' H. glabrata'' has good frost tolerance. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been developed for use in gardens, of which the hybrid 'Glory of Amlwch' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Species

* '' Hoheria angustifolia'' Raoul – narrow-leaved lacebark or narrow-leaved houhere * '' Hoheria equitum'' – Poor Knights houhere * ''

Hoheria glabrata ''Hoheria glabrata'', the mountain lacebark or ribbonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, endemic to New Zealand. It is one of the few deciduous trees to be found in N.Z. growing to tall with green leaves that turn yell ...

'' Sprague & Summerh – mountain lacebark or mountain ribbonwood * ''

Hoheria lyallii ''Hoheria lyallii'', the mountain lacebark, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to New Zealand, where it grows on drier mountainous areas of South Island - mainly in eastern Canterbury and Marlborough. Growing t ...

'' Hook.f – mountain lacebark * '' Hoheria populnea'' A.Cunn – New Zealand mallow, lacebark or houhere * '' Hoheria sexstylosa'' Col – long-leaved lacebark or long-leaved ribbonwood

Notes

References

Flora of New Zealand: ''Hoheria''

Royal Society of New Zealand
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311753 Malvaceae genera Trees of New Zealand