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Macrolearia colensoi
Tūpare, or leatherwood, is a tough, rigid shrub from New Zealand that can grow into a small tree up to about 5 m, with thick grey-green leaves that have white woolly undersides. It is hardy and tolerant of wind and cold, and needs well-drained soil and open sun to thrive.
Macrolearia colensoi, commonly known as tūpare (from the Māori tūpare) or leatherwood, is a sub-alpine species of shrub that is endemic to New Zealand. Other names it is known by in Māori are kūmarahou and kūmararaunui.
M. colensoi is endemic to New Zealand. It is common in sub-alpine scrub, and is found in the eastern and southern ranges of the North Island, western parts of the South Island, Stewart Island and some outlying islands. It grows down to sea level in the far south of New Zealand.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Macrolearia colensoi by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
