New Zealand Mainland Peperomia’s
The genus Peperomia is better known in New Zealand as a house plant and in warmer areas of the North Island some will grow outside.
There are two native species of Peperomia which are quite interesting due to the somewhat vulnerable positions they grow in. One is quite attractive and the other less so.
There is another species Peperomia leptostachya is known on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs where it is colonising which is not dealt with here. It has been recorded in New Zealand in cultivation. (INaturalist)
Peperomia’s belong to the Piperaceae along with one other NZ native plant genera – Piper (formally Macropiper) with its 5 species and subspecies.
Peperomia is from the Greek peperi (pepper) and homoios (resembling), referring to its resemblance to a true pepper.
Recently, on two separate trips to the North Island, I have been reacquainted with one of them and found the other for the first time.
Peperomia urvilleana A.Rich.
Syn. Peperomia simplex Endl., P. endlicheri Mig.
This is the most attractive species and is occasionally offered in New Zealand nurseries especially in the north of the North Island.
It has bright green, fleshy, alternate leaves, shiny on the upper surface and are set on fleshy lighter green stems somewhat upright in nature but can be pendulous due to the weight of the leaves and flowers pulling it down.
Minute flowers are produced on small green upright spikes. Moore and Irwin (1978) describe the minute fruit (under 30 times magnification) as sitting on a green mound studded with white jellybeans which burst easily exuding a sticky mucilage which ensures the fruit stick to anything that touches them. This stickiness enables seed distribution as it hitches a ride on an insect.
In nature it grows on rocks and trees in damp shady places and flowers throughout the Year. (NZPCN) states it is indigenous and is found in coastal to inland areas in warmer places throughout the North Island. In the South Island it is known only from the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay south to the Heaphy River. It is also found on Raoul Island in the Kermadec Islands group and is present on Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands where it is usually regarded as scarce. Cheeseman (1925) noted it was common north of Taranaki and Hawkes Bay and growing on limestone rocks in Golden Bay.
It is a nice bright green plant and will grow well in the garden in damp shady places or in a pot as a house plant.
Propagation is relatively easy from rooted pieces, fresh seed and stem cuttings. As it is fleshy cuttings will suffer from rot if too moist.
The specific name urvilleana is after D’Urville Island, which is named in honour of Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville (23 May 1790 - 8 May 1842) - a French explorer, naval officer and rear admiral, who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. (NZPCN)
Peperomia tetraphylla (G.Forst.) Hook. et Arn.
Syn: Piper tetraphyllum G.Forst., Peperomia novae-zelandiae Colenso
This is an interesting small native plant of limited value in cultivation compared to our other NZ Native Peperomia, P. urvilleana, which is quite attractive.
It is classified as Indigenous, meaning native, to the following places. In New Zealand it has been recorded from Northland, the Bay of Plenty and East Cape areas and also known from Australia and some Pacific Islands.
In New Zealand it is found in coastal and lowland areas usually epiphytic on tree trunks (particularly near branch junctions) but also found amongst tree roots. It is often found on shaded cliff faces and ledges and on boulders within native forests.
It is quite tolerant of dry conditions but flourishes near streams, waterfalls and seepages.
As a rather soft succulent herb it is found in some quite exposed places. I found it within 2 metres of the high tide line on a small rocky cliff face growing quite happily on Pohutukawa (Metreosideros excelsa) tree roots. See image.
Plants are flat and usually epiphytic or growing on rocks (rupestral) in patches up to 200 x 300 mm. The many rather thin delicate stems are 1-3 mm diameter, dark green, reddish-green to yellow-green are ascending and spreading. Leaves are borne in whorls of 4 and measure 5-15 x 4-12 mm. They are dark green to yellow-green above paler beneath, rounded, thick, fleshy, leathery (coriaceous) and finely downy when young.
The Inflorescence is a terminal spike 10-40 mm long with minute, greenish-yellow flowers appearing from September to April. The seed is very sticky in a similar way to P. urvilleana.
It is not actively threatened but generally uncommon. Some populations are very small, and most of those in Northland occur on private land where they are vulnerable to forest clearance.
This plant is a nice curiosity to find in nature but not one to be grown for ornamental purposes.
The specific name tetraphylla means 4 leaved.
References
Allan, H. H. (1961). Flora of New Zealand Vol. 1. R.E. Owen, Government printer. Wellington.
de Lange, P.J. (2021): Peperomia tetraphylla Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/peperomia-tetraphylla/ (accessed 25 March 2021 9.32pm).
INaturaist. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/3820202 (Accessed 7 April 2021)
Laing, R. M., & Blackwell E. W. (1964) 7 Ed. Plants of New Zealand. Whitcombe & Tombs, Christchurch.
Metcalf, L., (1993). The Cultivation of New Zealand Plants. Godwit Press Ltd. Auckland.
NZPCN https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/peperomia-urvilleana/ (Accessed 25 March 2021 9.31pm)
There are two native species of Peperomia which are quite interesting due to the somewhat vulnerable positions they grow in. One is quite attractive and the other less so.
There is another species Peperomia leptostachya is known on Raoul Island in the Kermadecs where it is colonising which is not dealt with here. It has been recorded in New Zealand in cultivation. (INaturalist)
Peperomia’s belong to the Piperaceae along with one other NZ native plant genera – Piper (formally Macropiper) with its 5 species and subspecies.
Peperomia is from the Greek peperi (pepper) and homoios (resembling), referring to its resemblance to a true pepper.
Recently, on two separate trips to the North Island, I have been reacquainted with one of them and found the other for the first time.
Peperomia urvilleana A.Rich.
Syn. Peperomia simplex Endl., P. endlicheri Mig.
This is the most attractive species and is occasionally offered in New Zealand nurseries especially in the north of the North Island.
It has bright green, fleshy, alternate leaves, shiny on the upper surface and are set on fleshy lighter green stems somewhat upright in nature but can be pendulous due to the weight of the leaves and flowers pulling it down.
Minute flowers are produced on small green upright spikes. Moore and Irwin (1978) describe the minute fruit (under 30 times magnification) as sitting on a green mound studded with white jellybeans which burst easily exuding a sticky mucilage which ensures the fruit stick to anything that touches them. This stickiness enables seed distribution as it hitches a ride on an insect.
In nature it grows on rocks and trees in damp shady places and flowers throughout the Year. (NZPCN) states it is indigenous and is found in coastal to inland areas in warmer places throughout the North Island. In the South Island it is known only from the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay south to the Heaphy River. It is also found on Raoul Island in the Kermadec Islands group and is present on Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands where it is usually regarded as scarce. Cheeseman (1925) noted it was common north of Taranaki and Hawkes Bay and growing on limestone rocks in Golden Bay.
It is a nice bright green plant and will grow well in the garden in damp shady places or in a pot as a house plant.
Propagation is relatively easy from rooted pieces, fresh seed and stem cuttings. As it is fleshy cuttings will suffer from rot if too moist.
The specific name urvilleana is after D’Urville Island, which is named in honour of Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville (23 May 1790 - 8 May 1842) - a French explorer, naval officer and rear admiral, who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. (NZPCN)
Peperomia tetraphylla (G.Forst.) Hook. et Arn.
Syn: Piper tetraphyllum G.Forst., Peperomia novae-zelandiae Colenso
This is an interesting small native plant of limited value in cultivation compared to our other NZ Native Peperomia, P. urvilleana, which is quite attractive.
It is classified as Indigenous, meaning native, to the following places. In New Zealand it has been recorded from Northland, the Bay of Plenty and East Cape areas and also known from Australia and some Pacific Islands.
In New Zealand it is found in coastal and lowland areas usually epiphytic on tree trunks (particularly near branch junctions) but also found amongst tree roots. It is often found on shaded cliff faces and ledges and on boulders within native forests.
It is quite tolerant of dry conditions but flourishes near streams, waterfalls and seepages.
As a rather soft succulent herb it is found in some quite exposed places. I found it within 2 metres of the high tide line on a small rocky cliff face growing quite happily on Pohutukawa (Metreosideros excelsa) tree roots. See image.
Plants are flat and usually epiphytic or growing on rocks (rupestral) in patches up to 200 x 300 mm. The many rather thin delicate stems are 1-3 mm diameter, dark green, reddish-green to yellow-green are ascending and spreading. Leaves are borne in whorls of 4 and measure 5-15 x 4-12 mm. They are dark green to yellow-green above paler beneath, rounded, thick, fleshy, leathery (coriaceous) and finely downy when young.
The Inflorescence is a terminal spike 10-40 mm long with minute, greenish-yellow flowers appearing from September to April. The seed is very sticky in a similar way to P. urvilleana.
It is not actively threatened but generally uncommon. Some populations are very small, and most of those in Northland occur on private land where they are vulnerable to forest clearance.
This plant is a nice curiosity to find in nature but not one to be grown for ornamental purposes.
The specific name tetraphylla means 4 leaved.
References
Allan, H. H. (1961). Flora of New Zealand Vol. 1. R.E. Owen, Government printer. Wellington.
de Lange, P.J. (2021): Peperomia tetraphylla Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/peperomia-tetraphylla/ (accessed 25 March 2021 9.32pm).
INaturaist. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/3820202 (Accessed 7 April 2021)
Laing, R. M., & Blackwell E. W. (1964) 7 Ed. Plants of New Zealand. Whitcombe & Tombs, Christchurch.
Metcalf, L., (1993). The Cultivation of New Zealand Plants. Godwit Press Ltd. Auckland.
NZPCN https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/peperomia-urvilleana/ (Accessed 25 March 2021 9.31pm)