''Pseudowintera traversii'', sometimes called Travers horopito,
is a species of
woody shrub
A shrub (often also called a 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 ...
in the family
Winteraceae
Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more south ...
. The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''traversii'' is in honor of naturalist
Henry H. Travers (1844–1928), son of
William Thomas Locke Travers.
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 o ...
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
In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...
or
obovate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
.
[ The leaves are green-blue underneath and matte green on top,][ The leaves may have reddish margins,][ The bark is reddish-brown and rough.][ The green or yellow flowers appear in January,][ with 5-7 petals and 4-9 ]stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s.[ 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 are strawberries, raspb ...
,[
Like all Winteraceae species, ''P. traversii'' lacks vessels in its ]xylem
Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem. The basic function of xylem is to transport water from roots to stems and leaves, but it also transports nutrients. The word ''xylem'' is derived from ...
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...
Habitat
Like the other species of horopito in ''Pseudowintera
''Pseudowintera'' is a genus of woody evergreen flowering trees and shrubs, part of family Winteraceae. The species of ''Pseudowintera'' are native to New Zealand. Winteraceae are magnoliids, associated with the humid Antarctic flora of the south ...
'', it is 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 elsew ...
to 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 ...
.national government A national government is the government of a nation.
National government or
National Government may also refer to:
* Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions
* Federal governme ...
there lists it as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon."montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
and woodland edge
A woodland edge or forest edge is the transition zone (ecotone) from an area of woodland or forest to fields or other open spaces. Certain species of plants and animals are adapted to the forest edge, and these species are often more familiar to hu ...
s on the South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
in northwest Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
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
Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...
) with '' P. colorata'', as natural hybrids have been found where their ranges overlap.
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