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Pittosporum tenuifolium

Common name:	Tawhiwhi	Family:	Pittosporaceae
Author:	Gaertn.	Botanical references:	11, 44, 200
Synonyms:	Pittosporum nigricans (Hort.), Pittosporum mayi (Hort.)
Known Hazards:	This plant contains saponins[152, 154]. Saponins are found in many foods, such as some beans, and although they are fairly toxic to people they are poorly absorbed by the body and most pass straight through without any problem. They are also broken down if the food is thoroughly cooked for a long time. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K].
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Coastal to lower montane forests, North and South Islands, especially from North Cape and southwards[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	tenuifolium = slender leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Pittosporum family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 7m by 4m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower in May. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Gum.

Gum - fragrant. It is obtained by bruising the bark or by incision[128, 173].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Hedge.

Very tolerant of trimming, plants can be grown as a formal or informal hedge in exposed maritime areas, though they do not stand extreme exposure[11, 75, 200]. When grown as a formal hedge it is best trimmed in spring, though this will mean that the plant will not produce many flowers[245]. A compromise is to only trim the hedge every other year[245].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most well-drained soils of reasonably good quality in full sun or light shade[1, 200]. Succeeds in dry soils. Fairly tolerant of maritime exposure[75, 182], but it can be killed by cold winds[184].
Hardy to about -10° c[184], it is tender outside the milder areas of Britain, but often self-sows when happy. Plants have reached a height of 9 metres in a sheltered position in eastern England[11].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are many named varieties[200].
Very amenable to pruning, plants can be cut right back into old wood if required[200].
The species in this genus are very likely to hybridize with other members of the genus[200]. When growing a species from seed it is important to ensure that the seed either comes from a known wild source, or from isolated specimens in cultivation.
Plants are widely cultivated for their foliage which lasts a long time in water and is used in flower arranging[11, 75]. The flowers are honey-scented[188].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow when ripe in the autumn or in late winter in a warm greenhouse[78, 200]. The seed usually germinates freely. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, move the plants to a cold frame as soon as they are established and plant out late in the following spring[78]. Consider giving them some protection from the cold during their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Poor to fair percentage[78].
Basal ripewood cuttings late autumn in a cold frame[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are honey-scented.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Pittosporum mayi (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Pittosporaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[75] Rosewarne experimental horticultural station. Shelter Trees and Hedges. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1984
A small booklet packed with information on trees and shrubs for hedging and shelterbelts in exposed maritime areas.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[128] Laing. and Blackwell. Plants of New Zealand. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd 1907
An old flora of New Zealand in a readable style. Some details of plant uses.

[152] Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants.
A very good and readable guide to the subject.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.