English: Black matipo.
Maori: Kōhūhū; Kohukohu; Tawhiwhi.
Name: Pitto means tarry and sporum means seed; tenui means slender, thin folium means leave in Latin.
Region: New zealand.
Habitat: coastal and lower mountain forest areas; altitude to 900 m.; forest edges, bottom of high terraces, in riverbeds; disturbed forest areas; reverting farmland, playing an important role in ecological succession; tolerates poor conditions, poor soils, droughts, winds; light-demanding; prefers soils with good drainage, humid climates.
Ecology: Pittosporum flower weevil, Aneuma rubricale; pittosporum shield bug, Monteithiella humeralis; Pittosporum psyllid, Trioza vitreoradiata; Cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchase; Ceroplastes destructor; Australian green shield bug, Glaucias amyoti; New Zealand flower thrips, Thrips obscuratus; fungus Pythium irregulare, causing foliar blight, rot, death; fungus Elsinoe takoropuku
Use: garden plant, for hedges or as visual backdrop; leaves, bark for scenting resin and oils; branches for Māori ceremonies, baptisms, welcoming visitors; stream stabilisation, erosion control.
BotanySmall evergreen bush or tree; up to 10 m tall; fast growing; germination may be slow, inhibited by the sticky coating; seedlings unusual having three or four seed leaves.
Roots: shallow, spreading.
Stem: trunk slender; 30 to 40 cm diameter; bark mottled, dark grey, turns black towards the tips of the branches.
Leaves: alternate; silvery green, darker on the upper side; small, 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide; oval to almost circular; covered with fine hairs when young; smooth, glossy when adult; edges undulated; midrib whiteish and quite visible on the upper side of the leaf;
petiole short.
Flowers: small, 1 cm in diameter; very dark, reddish-purple, to black when old, rarely red or yellow; unnoticed; scented only at night; develop from lateral buds, either individually or in clumps; male or bisexual; filled with nectar, exude a honey scented fragrance in the evenings in slightly damp conditions; flowering late spring.
Pollination: by moths, night flying insects
Fruit: small, around 1.2 cm in diameter; globe shaped capsule; covered in a small layer of hairs during early maturation, later discarded; shrinks, hardens, turns almost black, splitting into two or three segments when ripen.
Seeds: black seeds, encased in a very sticky substance.