Myoporum laetum G. Forst., Myoporaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: myoporum, ngaio

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to ca 12 m high with rough furrowed bark, much less commonly a shrub, generally of open habit with foliage towards end of branches. Leaf buds black or greenish black, rarely green, viscid, drying black. Petiole ca 1-1.5 cm long, scarcely distinct from attenuate base of lamina. Lamina 4-14 x 1-5-(6) cm, narrow- to broad-elliptic or obovate, often thick and almost fleshy, nearly always prominently dotted with pellucid glands, usually serrate to serrulate in upper 1/2, sometimes entire; apex mucronate, acute or short-acuminate. Juvenile leaves completely serrate. Flowers (1)-2-6; pedicels ca 10 mm long at anthesis. Calyx 2-3 mm long, divided almost to base; lobes lanceolate to ovate, acute to acuminate. Corolla 10-15 mm diameter; lobes greater than tube, white with purple dots and white-bearded inside. Style sparsely hairy. Drupe 5-10 mm long, narrow- to broad-ovoid or oblong, mauve to purple or reddish purple, occasionally white" (Webb et al., 1988; pp. 847-848).

Habitat/ecology:  In California, naturalized in coastal riparian areas (California Invasive Plant Council).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  New Zealand, naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	native	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (pp. 847-848) "Mostly coastal but sometimes extending well inland".
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2005)

Comments:  Reported as an invasive species in California per California Invasive Plant Council.

Additional information:  Additional online information about Myoporum laetum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Myoporum laetum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2005. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.