English: Shining broadleaf
Maori: Puka; Akapuka.
Genus: 7 species.
Region: New Zealand.
Habitat: wet lowland-forests, open or rocky coastal environments; lowland; high hills or forest or shrub land.
Use: screen or hedging against wind or other extreme situations.
BotanyEpiphytic plant; its distinctive fluted roots descend from the host trees; can become a tree, up to 10–15 metres tall.
Stem: rough and short branches, up to 15 decimetres in diameter.
Leaves: yellow-green to dark green; thick, glossy, shiny; broad-ovate to ovate-oblong or rounded with smooth margin; large, to 12 cm long by 4 to 5 cm wide; typically assymetrical at the base; alternate.
Inflorescence: small panicles.
Flowers: unisexual, dioecious; greenish; small; on slim twigs; flowering from late spring to mid-summer; 5 petals on pistillate flowers.
Fruit: green when immature; dark purple or black berries.
Pollination: by wind and insects.