Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Leucopogon
Species: L. parviflorus
Synonyms: Leucopogon richei, Styphelia richei, Styphelia parviflora, Cyathodes parviflora, Leucopogon lanceolatus,
Binomial name: Leucopogon parviflorus
Common name: Chatham Island Mingimingi, Coast Beard-heath, Native Currant.
Leucopogon parviflorus is indigenous to the Chatham Islands New Zealand. It also present in Australia (southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania).
It is strictly coastal, usually on stable, sand dunes, dune slacks and sand flats, more rarely on sandy soils in pasture. It is also found rocky headlands, at the head of ravines and in low, windswept coastal scrub where it may be dominant. Prefers free-draining substrates and avoids permanently damp soils.
The species grow to between 1.2 and 5 metres in height and has leaves that are 11 to 29 mm long and 2.4 to 7.5 mm in width, often with curved tips. The white flowers are around 15 mm long and are produced in spikes of 7 to 13. These occur throughout the year. The fruit is a fleshy, ovoid or spherical drupe 3 mm diameter which when immature is a greenish-yellow, then turning pale yellow and maturing to white.
For more details: http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp? ID=573
Photographed early October at Te Kainga Marire - New Zealand's Native Garden, New Plymouth
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
