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Pittosporum tenuifolium
(Kohuhu, Black Matipo)

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Prices:

	Each	20 or more
1.5L Pot	$7.50	$7.00
10L Pot	$40.00	$35.00

Details:

Type:	Tree
Growth Rate:	Fast
Mature Height:	6 m
Mature Width:	3 m
Site Condition:	Coastal, Exposed, Frost Tolerant, Heavy Soil, Loamy Soil, Sandy Soil, Waterways
Sun:	Full Sun, Part Shade
Drainage:	Dry, Moist
Frosts:	Hardy
Features:	Suitable for hedging or shelter. Attractive to birds, insects and bees. Rongoa. Flower colour: Black. Foliage colour: Green. Fruit colour: Black. Native. Suitable restoration species.

Pittosporum tenuifolium, Kohuhu, commonly called Black Matipo, is endemic and widespread throughout New Zealand. It is an extremely popular, adaptable and fast growing. Shiny light-green foliage with wavy margins and reddish brown branchlets. Fragrant dark red flowers in spring. Excellent plant for hedging and shelter. Tolerates wind, drought, frost, coastal conditions. A key species for forest revegetation and also a useful riparian edge plant. Kōhūhū grows particularly quickly at forest edges located at the bottom of high terraces. Sun or shade. Hardy. Evergreen.

The flowers’ colour ranges from dark-red to dark-purple turning almost black as the flowers age. Nectar fills the flowers. The flowers exude a honey-scented fragrance in the evenings with the scent being more obvious in slightly damp conditions. This attracts moths and night-flying insects, New Zealand’s indigenous pollinators. Fertilised flowers develop into small fruits that blacken as they ripen.

Habitat: A small tree of coastal to montane shrubland and forested habitats. Preferring successional habitats.

Flowering: Spring - Summer [October - January]
Fruiting: Autumn [February - June]

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