Hikurangi tutu facts for kids

Coriaria pottsiana, also known as the Hikurangi tutu or Pott's tutu, is a very rare plant. It is a small, low-growing shrub that stays green in summer. You can only find it in one special place: on a grassy slope near a hut on Mount Hikurangi in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand's North Island. This mountain hut is located at 37°54′22″S 178°3′31″E / 37.90611°S 178.05861°E / -37.90611; 178.05861.

What Does Hikurangi Tutu Look Like?

This delicate shrub usually grows up to 50 cm (20 in) tall. It can spread out about 1 m (3.3 ft) wide. It grows from underground stems called rhizomes. These rhizomes help the plant spread and create new shoots.

The plant has thin, four-sided stems that can be up to 40 cm (16 in) long. Its branches are also very thin.

Leaves and Flowers

The leaves of the Hikurangi tutu are small and dark red. They are shaped like oblongs or broad ovals and have wavy edges. Sometimes, the leaves have a rounded point at the end. They are about 5–9×4–9 mm (0.20–0.35×0.16–0.35 in) in size. The leaves grow opposite each other on the stem. Their undersides are purplish. Each leaf has a very short stalk, less than 0.5 mm (1⁄50 in) long.

The plant produces clusters of white flowers called racemes. These racemes can be 4–14 cm (1.6–5.5 in) long. You can find them at the very tip of the stems or on other main branches. Each white flower grows on a thin stalk, called a pedicel, which can be up to 7 mm (0.28 in) long. The flowers have oval-shaped sepals (outer leaf-like parts) and similar petals (the main flower parts). They also have five ribbed carpels, which are parts of the flower that produce seeds.

Is the Plant Safe?

Like all plants in the Coriaria family, the Hikurangi tutu is poisonous. The seeds inside its small black berries are especially toxic. However, the juice from some Coriaria berries is not poisonous. The Māori people used this juice. They called plants from this group "tutu."