''Coprosma hirtella'', or coffee-berry, is a shrub in the family

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It grows to about 2 metres high and has leaves that are between 15 and 50 mm long and 10 to 25 mm wide. Plants have male and female flower clusters that appear between August and April. These are followed by orange to reddish fruits that are 7 to 8 mm in diameter. The species was formally described by French botanist

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

in 1805, based on plant specimens collected in Tasmania. It is a common plant of moist montane forests in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' records "Fruit sweet, eatable, not agreeable. The fruits of other species may be eaten also."

References

hirtella ''Hirtella'' is a genus of 110 species of woody trees in family Chrysobalanaceae. It was first described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. ''Hirtella'' naturally occurs in tropical forests throughout Latin America, the West Indies, southeast Afric ...

Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of Tasmania Taxa named by Jacques Labillardière {{Rubioideae-stub