Plant of the day is Alseuosmia macrophylla or toropapa/karapapa
Well, we'll just see if Jade Lee reads these things. As she is fan of its habitat range...and maybe she saw some of them?
Range: This little guy is endemic to the north part of the north island of New Zealand. It is present throughout the island but on the volcanic plateau it is replaced by another species A. turneri. It can also be found on the south island but only on the north and west parts of it.
Taxonomy: This is the type genus for the small family Alseuosmiaceae ...yet ..NOT one that rolls off the tongue well. This one is going to be a challange to get to stick I'm afraid. Depending on where you look there are up to 3 genera included in the family but most often just Alseuosmia and Crispiloba (crispy lobes?? heh).
ID: The info on this stuff is pretty limited from what I'm finding just as a warning. I believe the leaves are alternate but from looking at pictures look like they are almost subopposite sometimes. The flowers are kind of pinkish red. This is an evergreen and the leaves are serrated/dentate. Stem also looks very green. Can grow to about 1.5m high and 1 wide so essentially a shrub. Apparently semi woody. The flowers are very fragant and for a mini etymology lesson, Alseuosmia means "fragrant grove." Macrophylla obviously means "big leaf."
Culture: Likes moist, shady, well drained spots. Link refers to loving a rotting log in the woods.
Overall this is a very attractive and nifty plant. It can be rooted with varying degrees of success from cuttings, layers well, and seed can be hard to germinate. Possums apparently like it?
This plant is sold for garden use in NZ, I'm kind of surprised there isn't more readily available info but hey...I don't have that much time tonight to do more of a hunt.
That's it folks, short and sweet. Alseuosmiaceae ...what a pain.
http://www.vibrantearth.co.nz/catalogue/plantsdetail.php?pid=62&name=Alseuosmia%20macrophylla.
http://nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=1488
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