''Pseudowintera traversii'', sometimes called Travers horopito, is a species of woody

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

in the family Winteraceae. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''traversii'' is in honor of naturalist

Henry H. Travers Henry Hammersley Travers (1844 – 16 February 1928) was a New Zealand naturalist, professional collector and taxidermist. He was the son of the politician William Travers. Born in Hythe, Kent, England, in 1844, and baptised at Cheriton, Kent, ...

(1844–1928), son of

William Thomas Locke Travers William Thomas Locke Travers (January 1819 – 23 April 1903) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician, explorer, and naturalist. Early life Travers was born near Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland, either on 9 or 19 January 1819. His father ...

Description

''Pseudowintera traversii'' is a densely branched shrub growing up to high. It has

coriaceous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

leaves that are long and

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

or obovate. The leaves are green-blue underneath and matte green on top, close-set and on stout petioles. The leaves may have reddish margins, but lack the picturesque blotches of '' P. colorata''. However they are described as tasting peppery and pungent. The bark is reddish-brown and rough. The green or yellow flowers appear in January, growing singly or as doubles, or rarely triples, with 5–7 petals and 4–9

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. The fruit appears in February as a fleshy

berry 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 of berries in the cul ...

, that is purplish-black and in diameter, containing 3–6 seeds. Like all species in the family Winteraceae, ''P. traversii'' lacks vessels in its

xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue (biology), tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts o ...

. File:Pseudowintera traversii 109442397.jpg, Growth habit File:Pseudowintera traversii 109442406.jpg, Underside of leaves File:Pseudowintera traversii (Buchanan) Dandy (AM AK354318).jpg, A specimen from the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

Habitat

Like the other species of horopito in '' Pseudowintera'', it is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to New Zealand. It is the rarest of the species, and the national government there lists it as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon." Naturally, it only is found growing in montane

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and woodland edges in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

in northwest Nelson between Westport and Collingwood.Allen, H. H. 1982: Flora of New Zealand. Volume I. Volume: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons. First electronic edition, Landcare Research, June 2004. Transcr. A.D. Wilton and I.M.L. Andres. https://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_28eba8dd-7c37-405a-98c8-c36333068505&fileName=Flora%201.xml#_28eba8dd-7c37-405a-98c8-c36333068505 . Accessed 5 February 2018. It grows from in elevation.

Ecology

''Pseudowintera traversii'' shares a pollinator (possibly a thrip) with '' P. colorata'', as natural hybrids have been found where their ranges overlap. Females of the species ''Thrips obscuratus'' (New Zealand flower thrips) have been collected on ''P. traversii''.

References

External links

* *
Type specimen at Museum of New Zealand''Drimys traversii''
{{taxonbar, from=Q6090297 Plants described in 1882 Winteraceae Endemic flora of New Zealand Kahurangi National Park