Description
Coprosma acerosa is a golden yellow coastal ground cover. Great for windy, coastal areas which get dry winds. Useful grown in areas prone to erosion, on banks, or over walls. Can also be easily incorporated into mixed shrub planting as a ground cover. Tiny green flowers are followed by small white berries. Leaves are short and narrow and lie along yellow/orange stems. C. acerosa is often cultivated to produce a variety of leave colour, but in Canterbury it naturally occurs as a bright yellow/green as shown. In addition to bank stabilisation and as a mixed groundcover, native gecko species love the berries. As a result, this is a good addition to a revegetation project looking to increase biodiversity in the area.
Coprosma acerosa can be found in the mid-dune areas along the coast in association with (but not limited to) Muehlenbeckia astonii, Ozothamnus leptophylla, and Poa cita. For more information about sand dune communities, recommend DOC’s publication Native Plant Communities of the Canterbury Plains.
Small-leaved Coprosmas are good for revegetation projects, hedging, and adding texture into a garden. They are evergreen and suited to full sun to part shade. They produce berries from January to April that are dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivory). They also provide habitat for New Zealand’s declining lizard and gecko populations. As attractors of these small animals, they are a pioneer shrub in revegetation projects. Mingimingi provides a tough shelter, providing good food for native birds and lizards, as well as ground cover for these.
