Red matipo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Red matipo
Myrsine australis foliage
Scientific classification
Genus:	Myrsine
Species:	australis

The Myrsine australis, also known as red matipo, māpou, māpau, tīpau, and mataira, is a type of shrub or small tree. It belongs to the Myrsinaceae family. This plant is special because it grows only in New Zealand. You can find it all over the main islands and on smaller islands nearby.

What it Looks Like

The red matipo is a small shrub or tree that usually grows between 3 and 6 meters tall. That's about the height of a small house! It has short, straight branches that form a neat, rounded top. The main trunk can grow up to 20 centimeters wide.

The bark on the trunk and older branches is dark brown or black. But the younger branches are reddish, which helps you tell this plant apart from others. Its leaves are pale green with a hint of yellow on top, and even lighter underneath. They are about 3 to 6 centimeters long and 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters wide. The leaves grow one after another along the stem and feel a bit like leather.

Most red matipo leaves have wavy edges, but some rare ones have flat edges. You might also see tiny, clear dots on the leaves if you hold them up to the light. Each leaf is connected to a red stalk, about 5 millimeters long. The color and size of these stalks can change depending on where the plant grows.

Where it Grows

New Zealand Home

Red matipo is a native plant of New Zealand. It grows naturally on the North, South, and Stewart Islands. It used to be very common in the lowland forests of New Zealand. However, much of these forests were cleared for timber and farming.

Even though many forests are gone, red matipo is now often planted in areas where people are trying to grow back native plants. It's also popular with gardeners because it looks nice and can be used as a hedge. You can even find red matipo growing under pine trees in New Zealand's large pine plantations.

Favorite Places to Live

You can find red matipo from the coast all the way up to 900 meters high in the mountains. It likes to grow on the edges of forests, in scrubland, and near the coast. Sometimes, it grows as a smaller plant under taller trees in older forests.

Red matipo is known as a "pioneer" plant. This means it's one of the first plants to grow in an area where land has been cleared, like old farms. It's a tough plant that can handle different conditions. Because it's so hardy, people often use it in planting projects to help other, more delicate plants get started.

This plant grows alongside many other New Zealand native plants. Near the coast, you might see it with pohutukawa and ngaio. In scrubland, it grows with manuka and kanuka. In mature forests, it can be found with tall podocarp trees. Red matipo is very common and is not in danger of disappearing.

Life Cycle and Reproduction

Red matipo usually flowers between August and January. It then produces fruit from September to December. Its small flowers grow in clusters on the branches where older leaves have fallen off. They are tiny, only about 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters wide, and are creamy white with small orange spots.

Some red matipo plants have only male flowers, which produce pollen. Other plants have only female flowers, which grow fruit after being fertilized. Sometimes, you can see both flowers and fruit on the same plant at the same time!

The fruits of the red matipo are called "drupes." This means they have a single hard seed inside, covered by a soft, fleshy outer layer. The fruits are small, about 2 to 4 millimeters wide, and are dark brown to black.

Many New Zealand birds love to eat these fruits. These include the kererū, tūī, silvereye, bellbird, and even the common blackbird. When the birds eat the fruit, they help spread the seeds around after they digest them.

Red matipo seeds can stay dormant in the ground for a year or more before they sprout. They often need a cold period to help them start growing. Because of this, it can take a long time for red matipo seeds to germinate compared to some other New Zealand native plants.

What it Needs to Grow and Who Eats It

What it Needs to Grow

Red matipo grows quickly and can be one of the first plants to appear in new areas. But it can also survive in dense forests where there isn't much light. This shows that it can handle many different environments. Since it grows across the North, South, and Stewart Islands, it can also handle different climates. Once it's established, it can live through dry periods and even frosts.

Red matipo grows well in most types of soil. While it grows best with a good amount of phosphorus in the soil, it can still do well even when phosphorus levels are low.

Who Eats It

When wild animals like deer and goats were brought to New Zealand, they ate many native plants. This caused a big loss in the number and types of plants growing on the forest floor. Red matipo is one of many plants affected, but it's quite tough compared to other native plants when animals graze on it.

Studies have shown that red matipo is one of the least affected plants when animals like sheep and cattle are in the forest. Even the Australian common brushtail possum, which eats many native plants, tends to avoid red matipo leaves. In fact, red matipo seeds are only rarely found in possum droppings.

As mentioned before, native birds like the New Zealand bellbird and tūī, along with introduced birds like the common blackbird, eat the fruit of the red matipo. These birds are very important because they help spread the plant's seeds to new places.

Other Interesting Facts

The group of plants called Myrsine was first described a long time ago by a scientist named Linnaeus. The first plant described in this group was Myrsine africana, which grows in Africa, India, and China. At first, scientists thought there were three different groups of these plants, but now all 300 or so species are grouped under Myrsine.

Red matipo is sometimes mistaken for another New Zealand native plant called Pittosporum tenuifolium, or Kōhūhū. This often happens when people only look at the leaves to identify them. However, you can tell them apart by looking at the young branches: red matipo has reddish branches, while Kōhūhū has black ones.

Both Māori people and early European settlers used red matipo for medicine. If you boiled its leaves in water, the liquid could help with toothaches. Today, scientists have found that red matipo leaves contain special substances that can help with arthritis and blood vessel problems. Many other Myrsine species are still used for medicine today. For example, M. africana has a substance called saponin that might help cancer patients.

In the past, Europeans used red matipo wood to make furniture. But today, because it's so tough and looks good, it's more often used as a hedge plant in gardens. Plant breeders have even created a special type of red matipo with variegated leaves. This means the center of the leaf is bright green or yellow, with a thin, uneven margin of the normal leaf color around it, making it even more attractive.