Leptecophylla juniperina
Encyclopedia
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family Ericaceae
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
. The species is native to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n states of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. The plant's fruit is edible, raw or cooked. Plants grow best in areas with moderate winters and cool moist summers.
Three subspecies are recognised as follows:
- L. juniperina (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) C.M.Weiller subsp. juniperina (New Zealand and Tasmania)
- L. juniperina subsp. oxycedrus (Labill.) C.M.Weiller (Tasmania and Victoria)
- L. juniperina subsp. parvifolia (R.Br.) C.M.Weiller (Tasmania)
An example occurrence of L. juniperina is in the red and silver beech forests admixed with rimu
Rimu
Rimu can mean the following:*Dacrydium cupressinum, also rimu, a tree endemic to New Zealand*Rimu, Southland, a locality in Southland, New Zealand*Rimu, West Coast, a locality in the West Coast region of New Zealand...
and miro podocarps on northern South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
; associate understory species in this South Island forest include Blechnum discolor
Blechnum discolor
Blechnum discolor is a species of fern in the family Blechnaceae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. As noted by C. Michael Hogan, this species is found in a number of forest communities in diverse locations within New Zealand, and is sometimes a dominant understory component.Spores are...
.
Common names
Common names in New Zealand include Prickly Heath and Prickly Mingimingi.Maori names for this plant include Hukihuki, Hukihukiraho, Inakapōriro, Inangapōriro, Kūkuku, Miki, Mikimiki, Mingi, Mingimingi Ngohungohu, Pā tōtara, Taumingi, Tūmingi.
In Australia, the subspecies parvifolia (syn. Cyathodes parviflora) is known as Pink Mountain Berry.