''Muehlenbeckia australis'', the large-leaved muehlenbeckia or pohuehue, is a prostrate or climbing plant native to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Description

The species grows up to tall with grey bark. The leaves are on stiff

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s and are long. Lamina is by long. It has juvenile and adult leaf forms and loses its leaves in winter. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are greenish and the fruits are juicy with black shiny seeds covered by a white, succulent cup of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s, which are fed on by various birds and lizards. Flowers bloom from late spring to autumn, with it

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s occur usually in spring and summer. Fruits are present from November to April, sometimes till June.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1786 by

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

, as ''Coccoloba australis''. It was transferred to the genus ''

Muehlenbeckia ''Muehlenbeckia'' or maidenhair is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to the borders of the Pacific, including South and North America, Papua New Guinea and Australasia. It has been introduced elsewhere, includin ...

'' in 1841 by

Carl Meissner Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...

. Some sources, including

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

, regard ''

Muehlenbeckia adpressa ''Muehlenbeckia adpressa'', commonly known as climbing lignum, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to Australia. It has thin red-brown stems up to in length. The leaves are long and wide. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia, ...

'' as a synonym of this species. Others treat them as separate species.

Ecology

''M. australis'' prefers places with plenty of sunlight and climbing support, such as forest edges, cliff faces, scrub and regenerating vegetation. With its climbing and rapid growth form, it is capable of engulfing roadside trees, and has benefited from cleared habitats created since human settlement began, and is sometimes the only native species present in such areas.

Host plant

''M. australis'' is a host plant for numerous New Zealand endemic insects including '' Pyrgotis eudorana, Apoctena orthropis, Argosarchus horridus,'' and ''

Clitarchus hookeri ''Clitarchus hookeri'', commonly known as the smooth stick insect or the common stick insect, is a stick insect of the family (biology), family Phasmatidae, endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It is possibly New Zealand's most common stick insect. ...

.''

References

External links

Citizen science observations of ''M. australis''.Images
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15600466 australis Flora of New Zealand