''Coprosma ernodeoides'', known as black-fruited coprosma in English and or in Hawaiian, is a sprawling shrub occurring only on the islands of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

and

Hawai‘i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Description

''Coprosma ernodeoides'' is a prostrate shrub with narrow, shiny, tightly packed, dark-green, opposite leaves. The flowers are small, and the most obviously visible features are the 8-20 mm pale style branches. The distinctive shiny black fruit are 8-13 mm in diameter. This is the only species of ''Coprosma'' on the Hawaiian islands with black fruit.

Range

This plant is restricted to the alpine areas of

and

Habitat

''Coprosma ernodeoides'' inhabits a variety of open alpine sites, from lava and cinder fields to forest and shrublands.

Ecology

The fruit are eaten by the .

Human uses

Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

used the fruit to make lei, the inner bark to make a yellow dye, and the fruit to make purple to black dye.

Etymology

The Hawaiian name means "nēnē dung" due to the resemblance of the fruit to the feces of the , coincident with the etymology of the name of the genus ''Coprosma'' which means "smelling like dung". The Hawaiian name means "food of the nēnē".

Taxonomy

This species was described by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

in 1860 based on specimens collected by Archibald Menzies.

References

ernodeoides Taxa named by Asa Gray Plants described in 1860 {{Rubiaceae-stub