Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Myrsinaceae
Genus: Myrsine
Species: M. nummularia
Scientific name: Myrsine nummularia
Synonyms: Rapanea nummularia, Suttonia nummularia
Common Names: Creeping matipo, Creeping mapou
Myrsine nummularia is a native prostrate rambling shrub with trailing stems up to 50 cm long. The trunk bark is a reddish-brown. The thick and oval (1 cm long) leaves range in colour from dark greens to golden brown through to a reddish brown colour. This plant grows in rocky alpine scrub and fellfields up to 1600 m altitude. Small flowers appear in October to February and the berries change colour from a pale green to purple when they are ripe (April to May).
The Latin name 'nummularia ' means coin, referring to the leaf shape.
Photographed late March at Otari Native Botanic Garden and Wilton's Bush Reserve. Wellington.
Photographed early November with winter coloured foliage. Small pale green berries which will change to a purple colour are present.
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Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
