Coprosma ciliata Hook.f.
Type locality: Auckland Id. Type: K, J. D. Hooker 1436.
Erect or spreading or sts subprostrate shrub up to c. 3 m. tall; branches slender, branchlets pubescent. Lvs on petioles (1)-2-3-(4) mm. long, hairy. Stipules subacute, pubescent, densely ciliate, with conspicuous tuft at apex. Lamina thin, pubescent, broad-ovate to oval to oblong, acute to obtuse, (6)-10-(20) × (1·5)-4-5-(10) mm. Midrib (pilose above and below) and principal secondary veins us. evident on both surfaces. Fls solitary, axillary. ♂ without calyx; corolla funnelform, lobes ovate-triangular, acute, = tube. ♀ with acute, short, triangular calyx-teeth; corolla subcampanulate, cut 1/2 way into acute lobes. Drupe yellow, globose to oblong, c. 6-7 mm. diam. Campbell Id specimens show a range of colours from clear white through yellow and orange to purplish red.
DIST.: N., S., St., A., C. Lowland to higher montane forest and grassland, apparently almost throughout, but local except in southern portion of range.
A very ill-resolved complex. Oliver (loc. cit. 62) gives in synonymy-- C. ciliata Hook. f. var. virgata Fl. Antarct. 1, 1844, 22. C. myrtillifolia Hook. f. loc. cit. 21. C. parviflora var. pilosa Cheesem. in T.N.Z.I. 19, 1887, 242. C. parviflora Cheesem. in Subantarct. Is N.Z. 2, 1909, 410 non Hook. f. Fl. N.Z. 1, 1853, 107. He gives a very useful discussion.
The type at K has shed many cilia; midrib ± pilose above and below, still slightly hairy on upper surface; lamina oval to ovate-oblong, (7-8)-15-20 × (2-3)-5-10 mm. including petiole; main veins distinct below. The type of var. virgata has lvs ± 9-11 × 4-6 mm. Cheeseman (T.N.Z.I. 19, 1887, 241-242) had not seen specimens of C. ciliata from the Auckland and Campbell Is. Under C. parviflora Hook. f. he gives C. myrtillifolia Hook. f. as a synonym. He states of C. parviflora : "A well-marked and distinct species, which, though varying within certain limits, can always be distinguished from its allies by its leafy habit, pubescent branches, obovate or linear-obovate coriaceous leaves, and semi-transparent globose drupe. There are three main forms: the first, which may be considered the type of the species, is rather stout and closely branched, with moderately pubescent branches and obovate or linear-obovate coriaceous leaves, which are nearly glabrous. This form is found both in the lowlands and on the mountains. The second, which is common in many places on the mountains of Nelson and Canterbury, has a much more slender habit, softer more pubescent branches, and rather broader much thinner leaves, which are usually ciliate on both surfaces and margins with soft hairs. This might be distinguished as var. pilosa. The third form is stiff and rigid, and very closely branched, with white bark and very small almost linear leaves. It also is montane and occurs in several places in the Southern Alps, from Nelson to Otago." Cheeseman gave a more formal description of his var. pilosa in Man. N.Z. Fl. 1906, 264. Later (Subantarct. Is N.Z. 2, 1909, 411) he referred this var. to C. ciliata Hook. f.
Oliver, in the course of his discussion, which should be consulted, says: "Hooker described from the Auckland Islands under the name of C. myrtillifolia specimens having smaller leaves wanting hairs on the margin. Besides a portion of the type the Dominion Museum contains a good series of specimens of C. ciliata which I collected at the Auckland, Campbell, and Antipodes islands in 1927. These show variations from large ciliate leaves to small glabrous ones, both often being found on the same branches. C. myrtillifolia corresponds with the form with small glabrous leaves, which I judge to be characteristic of the more exposed positions."
The type of Cheeseman's C. parviflora var. pilosa is in A, Arthur Pass, Cheeseman, Jan. 1893. The type of C. myrtillifolia is in K, Auckland Id, J. D. Hooker 1437.
