Cestrum fasciculatum 'Newellii'
Corolla scarlet; lobes ± broad-triangular, 2-3 mm long. Fr. dark red, shining, probably c. 8 mm diam.
N.: Wanganui, Feilding (Manawatu); S.: Nelson, Karamea (Buller), Barrytown (Westland), Banks Peninsula (Canterbury).
Possibly garden origin 1958
Occasional cultivation escape on secondary forest and scrub margins, sometimes forming large colonies.
Poisonous (Connor 1977).
The origin of this taxon is uncertain and it may be a hybrid of C. elegans and C. fasciculatum. It first appeared in cultivation in England. In N.Z. it is now the most popular cestrum in cultivation because of its bright crimson fls, whereas the ordinary purple C. fasciculatum is uncommon in cultivation. Apart from the colour of the corolla and the rarely produced fr., the only differences between these 2 forms of C. fasciculatum are the size and shape of the corolla lobes. C. 'Newellii' has previously been known in N.Z. as C. fasciculatum var. newellii or simply C. fasciculatum and has often been confused with C. elegans. However, C. elegans always has a glabrous corolla tube.
