Coprosma petriei

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds - coffee

The fruit, about 12mm wide, can be eaten raw or cooked. It is sweet but without much flavour. Fruit colour ranges from white to blue or sea-green, though it is seldom produced in Britain. The roasted seed makes an excellent coffee substitute.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in alpine areas in New Zealand. It suits hardiness zones 7-10.

Australia, New Zealand*,

How to Identify

A low growing shrub. It can grow 8 cm high and spread 0.9 m wide. It forms a dense cushion. The leaves are small and dark green and needle-like. They are densely packed on small dark brown branches. The fruit are berries. They are pale blue to purple.

How to Grow

Requires a moist, very well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil in full sun or light shade. Succeeds in most soils, so long as they are well-drained. This plant has survived very dry conditions with us and appears to be very drought tolerant. One of the hardiest members of this genus, it succeeds outdoors in the rock garden in many parts of the country. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus, though it does not seem to cross with C. pumila, C. atropurpurea or any red-fruited species. There are several named forms selected for their ornamental value. Plants are normally dioecious, though in some species the plants produce a few flowers of the opposite sex before the main flowering and a few hermaphrodite flowers are sometimes produced. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required.

Propagation: Seed is probably best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse or cold frame. Stored seed should be sown in spring in a cold frame. Germination can be slow, often taking more than 12 months even with fresh seed. Prick seedlings out into individual pots once large enough to handle. Grow plants through at least their first winter under glass before planting out in late spring or early summer, and give some cold protection during their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of mature wood from the current year's growth can be taken in autumn and rooted in a frame.

Medicinal Uses

None known.

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the wood and requires no mordant. This is a dense carpeting plant that can be spaced about 25cm apart to form ground cover. The cultivar 'Violet Drops' is considerably more vigorous than the species, forming compact mats up to 2 metres across and making a very effective ground cover.

Coprosma petriei, commonly mirrorplant, is a mat-forming shrub native to New Zealand. It is a hardy wind pollinated plant that is 0.1 m (4 in) by 0.5 m (20 in). Seeds mature in August and the plants only produce either male or female seeds; they are not self-fertilizing.

Notes

There are about 90 Coprosma species.

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