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Meryta sinclairii (Hook.F.) Seem.

Puka (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Apiales > Araliaceae > Meryta

Characteristics

Tree up to c. 8 m. tall, with trunk up to c. 5 dm. diam.; branches brittle. Lvs crowded at apices of branchlets, simple, on petioles up to c. 35 cm. long; lamina about oblong, semicordate at base, coriac., glossy, up to c. 50 × 20 cm.; margins very shallowly broadly lobulate, slightly undulate. Panicles terminal, erect, up to 5 dm. long, about oblong in outline, branches jointed. ♂ in bracted clusters; calyx obsolete, petals 4, greenish; stamens 4. ♀ bracted, crowded; calyx obsolete, petals 4-5, greenish; staminodes present, style-branches 4-5. Fr. 1 cm. or more long, succulent, black, 4-5-loculed; seeds solitary in each locule.
More
A tree. It grows about 6-10 m tall. The leaves are large. The leaf and stalk are 1 m long. They are leathery thick and shiny. They are bright green. They grow in heavy bunches towards the ends of branches. The flowers are small and green and have 4 petals. They occur in long clusters. The fruit are berries. They are 10 mm long. They take about 12 months to mature. They turn black and are succulent.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality -
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 8.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in the off shore islands near Auckland in New Zealand. They are frost tender. They need fertile, well-drained, humus-rich soils. It suits hardiness zones 10-11. Hobart Botanical Gardens.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 11-12

Usage

The ripe fruit are eaten.
Uses material medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Meryta sinclairii leaf picture by Joel Hildebrandt (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Meryta sinclairii world distribution map, present in New Zealand

Conservation status

Meryta sinclairii threat status: Vulnerable

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:91039-1
WFO ID wfo-0000241864
COL ID 73B4G
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Meryta sinclairii Botryodendrum sinclairii
WorldFloraDB 2024