Oak-leaved Toropapa

Botanical name: Alseuosmia quercifolia
Common name(s): Oak-leaved Toropapa, Toropapa, Karapapa

Plant facts:
A highly fragrant New Zealand native shrub with striking crimson new growth and highly variable glossy foliage. Leaf shapes range from broad oak-like lobed forms to long narrow lance-shaped leaves, sometimes occurring together on the same plant. Valued for its sweetly scented tubular flowers and dark plum-red berries, this attractive forest understory shrub is ideal for shaded native gardens and ecological plantings.

Natural habitat:
Occurs naturally in lowland to lower montane forest, forest margins, cool gullies and shaded slopes, particularly in damp free-draining environments with high rainfall.

Growing environment:
Shade, Moist soil, Humidity, Shelter & Free draining tolerant.
Prefers cool sheltered conditions with rich humus-filled soil and protection from prolonged drought, wind and harsh afternoon sun.

Endemic distribution:
Endemic to New Zealand.
Found in the North Island from Te Paki south to near Awakino in the west, and east to Thames and the lower Hauraki Plains, with a few historic East Cape records. Most common in the Waikato region.

Height:
Approximately 1.5–2.5 m tall

Width:
Approximately 1–2 m wide

Growth habit:
A slender, sparsely branched evergreen shrub with reddish-brown stems and distinctive crimson-red young shoots.

Leaves:
Leaves are glossy bright green above and pale glaucous beneath, highly variable in shape from entire and narrow to deeply lobed or oak-like. Petioles are usually crimson-red.

Flowers:
Flowers are tubular, drooping and intensely fragrant, borne singly or in clustered fascicles near the leaf bases. Colour varies from cream and greenish tones through to dusky pink.

Flower colours:
Cream, Red/Pink, Dusky Pink, Pale Green

Flowering:
Spring
Main flowering period September–October

Fruiting:
Autumn
Fruit ripens from March–May

Fruit:
Small fleshy ellipsoid berries ripening to deep plum-red, attractive to native birds.

Ecology:
A bird-dispersed understory shrub adapted to cool humid forest ecosystems. Flowers are protandrous and strongly scented, historically pollinated by native birds including hihi and korimako, as well as moths. Fruits are eaten and dispersed by kererū, kōkako and historically by moa and kākāpō.

Uses:

• Native woodland gardens
• Fragrant forest understory planting
• Bird attracting gardens
• Ecological restoration
• Shade gardens
• Container cultivation
• Collectors native plantings

Appearance:

Growth habit:
Forms a graceful open shrub with spreading branchlets and colourful crimson new growth.

Leaves:
Leaves are highly variable, ranging from broad lobed oak-like foliage to long narrow lanceolate forms. Surfaces are glossy with pale undersides and reddish petioles.

Flowers:
Flowers are pendulous, tubular and sweetly scented with recurved often fringed lobes. Flower colour varies widely between plants.

Fruit:
Berries are glossy dark plum-red when ripe and contrast strongly against the green foliage.

How to grow:
Best grown in partial shade with rich moist free-draining soil and a cool sheltered root run. Particularly suited to humid woodland gardens and protected native plantings. Performs very well in containers but can be difficult to establish when planted out. Propagates readily from cuttings with very high strike rates, while seed is slower and less reliable to germinate. Plants are slow growing and can occasionally suffer sudden collapse during prolonged dry periods or root disturbance.

Similar species:
Related to Alseuosmia macrophylla and Alseuosmia pusilla. Distinguished by its highly variable oak-like foliage, crimson stems and exceptionally fragrant flowers.

Garden value:
An elegant and unusual native shrub prized for its foliage variation, scented flowers and colourful new growth. Particularly effective in shaded fern gardens, cool courtyards and native woodland settings where its fragrance and intricate foliage can be appreciated up close.