Myoporum laetum

Appearance

Ngaio is a fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree that sometimes grows to a height of 10 metres with a trunk up to 0.3 metres in diameter, or spreads to as much as 4 metres . It often appears dome-shaped at first but as it gets older, distorts as branches break off. The bark on older specimens is thick, corky and furrowed. The leaves are lance-shaped, usually 52–125 millimetres long, 15–30 millimetres wide, have many translucent dots in the leaves and edges that have small serrations in approximately the outer half.

The flowers are white with purple spots and are borne in groups of 2 to 6 on stalks 7–15 millimetres long. There are 5 egg-shaped, pointed sepals and 5 petals joined at their bases to form a bell-shaped tube 3.5–4.5 millimetres long. The petal lobes are 4.5–5.5 millimetres long making the flower diameter 15–20 millimetres . There are four stamens that extend slightly beyond the petal tube and the ovary is superior with 2 locules. Flowering occurs from mid-spring to mid-summer and is followed by the fruit which is a bright red drupe 6–9 millimetres long.

Naming

''Myoporum laetum'' was first formally described in 1786 by Georg Forster in ''Florulae Insularum Australium Prodromus''. The specific epithet means "cheerful, pleasant or bright".

Distribution

Ngaio grows very well in coastal areas of New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. It grows in lowland forest, sometimes in pure stands, others in association with other species such as nikau .

Habitat

Ngaio grows very well in coastal areas of New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. It grows in lowland forest, sometimes in pure stands, others in association with other species such as nikau .''Myoporum laetum'' has been introduced to several other countries including Portugal, South Africa and Namibia. It is considered an invasive exotic species by the California Exotic Pest Plant Council.

Defense

The leaves of this tree contain the liver toxin ngaione, which can cause sickness and or death in stock such as horses, cattle, sheep and pigs.

Cultural

Ngaio is a hardy plant that will grow in most soils but needs full sun. It can also tolerate exposure to salt spray. It can be grown from seed or from semi-hard cuttings.