Nertera villosa

Nertera villosa
Nertera villosa in Fiordland

Not Threatened (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Nertera
Species:
N. villosa
Binomial name
Nertera villosa
B.H.Macmill. & R.Mason

Nertera villosa, the hairy forest nertera, is a species of flowering plant, endemic to New Zealand.[2]

Description

The species is a small and prostrate herb. Its stems have short, bunched, sub-appressed (laid against other surfaces such as the stem) hairs. The leaves are green and roughly heart-shaped. The fruit is an orange or red drupe.[2][3]

Flowers are present from August to April.[4]

Range and habitat

This species is found from the lowlands to the mountains in New Zealand, on all of the major islands but scarce in the northern areas of the North Island.[2] In the South Island it is only found up to 600m in elevation, and only up to 450m on Stewart Island.[4]

Ecology

Nertera villosa is resistant to browsing.[4]

Etymology

Villosa means 'hairy' in Latin.[2]

Taxonomy

This species was made available in 1995.[5]

References

  1. ^ "NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Nertera villosa". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Nertera villosa B.H.Macmill. & R.Mason - Biota of NZ". biotanz.landcareresearch.co.nz. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Macmillan, B. H. (1 December 1995). "Nertera villosa B.H.Macmill. et R.Mason (Rubiaceae), a new species from New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 33 (4): 435–438. Bibcode:1995NZJB...33..435M. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1995.10410616. ISSN 0028-825X.
  5. ^ Macmillan, B. H. (1 December 1995). "Nertera villosa B.H.Macmill. et R.Mason (Rubiaceae), a new species from New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 33 (4): 435–438. Bibcode:1995NZJB...33..435M. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1995.10410616. ISSN 0028-825X.