Story: Shrubs and small trees of the forest

Small-leaved shrubby coprosmas

Small-leaved shrubby coprosmas

There are over 30 species of small-leaved coprosmas that grow with a tangled, twiggy form. Many are hard to identify without a good magnifying glass. They are plants of varied habitat: some, like the two illustrated here, thrive in the shelter of a forest understorey, but most are plants of open sites, ranging from swamplands to exposed mountain tops or dry dunelands.

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Diagram by Tim Galloway

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How to cite this page:

Joanna Orwin, 'Shrubs and small trees of the forest - Coprosmas', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/13836/small-leaved-shrubby-coprosmas (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Joanna Orwin, published 24 Sep 2007, updated 1 Jul 2015