Ngaio Tree (Myoporum laetum)
Description
Myoporum laetum, commonly known as ngaio or mousehole tree is a plant in the family Scrophulariaceae endemic to New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands. It is a fast growing shrub, readily distinguished from others in the genus by the transparent dots in Ngaio is a fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree which sometimes grows to a height of 10 metres (30 ft) with a trunk up to 0.3 metres (1 ft) in diameter, or spreads to as much as 4 metres (10 ft). It often appears dome-shaped at first but as it gets older, distorts as branches break off. The bark on older specimens is thick, corky and furrowed. The leaves are lance-shaped, usually 52-125 millimetres (2-5 in) long, 15-30 millimetres (0.6-1 in) wide, have many translucent dots in the leaves and edges which have small serrations in approximately the outer half. the leaves which are visible when held to a light. The flowers are white with purple spots and are borne in groups of 2 to 6 on stalks 7-15 millimetres (0.3-0.6 in) long. There are 5 egg-shaped, pointed sepals and 5 petals joined at their bases to form a bell-shaped tube 3.5-4.5 millimetres (0.1-0.2 in) long. The petal lobes are 4.5-5.5 millimetres (0.18-0.22 in) long making the flower diameter 15-20 millimetres (0.6-0.8 in). There are four stamens which extend slightly beyond the petal tube and the ovary is superior with 2 locules. Flowering occurs from mid-spring to mid-summer and is followed by the fruit which is a bright red drupe 6-9 millimetres (0.2-0.4 in) long.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Lamiales
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Family: Scrophulariaceae
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Genus: Myoporum
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