Coprosma foetidissima

Coprosma foetidissima is in the family Rubiaceae, and was described in 1776 by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster. The species is named stinkwood and foetidissima because of the foul smell produced when the leaves are crushed. During the second voyage of James Cook, Johann Forster reported that the plant gave off a smell like rotten cabbage. The smell is caused by the sulphur compound methanethiol (or methyl mercaptan). The name for the genus Coprosma is derived from this species. In Ancient Greek, copros (κόπρος) means 'dung', and osme (ὀσμή) means 'smell'. However, despite this species being the basis of the name for the entire genus, most of the other species in the genus do not smell in this way. The specific epithet foetidissima. is derived from Latin, where "foetidus" means "stinking" or "bad-smelling" with the superlative suffix implying great intensity. The name of the species in the Māori language is . In his report on a botanical survey of the Auckland Islands as part of the Antarctic voyages of HMS Erebus from 1839-1843, Joseph Dalton Hooker recalled collecting a specimen of C. foetidissima: The type specimen, recorded by Georg Forster in 1772, is held in the vascular plants collection of the University of Göettingen. == Description ==

C. foetidissima grows as a small open branched tree or shrub, typically up to tall, but in the Auckland Islandsreaching heights of , with a trunk up to in diameter. The leaves lie in a single plane on the branchlet. The leaves of C. foetidissima (and many other species of Rubiaceae) have domatia, small indentations on the underside that may be occupied by potentially beneficial insects such as mites and other arthropods. C. foetidissima is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. Flowering occurs between October and November. Fruiting occurs between March and July. The drupes are in length with an oblong shape. They are yellow to orange-red in colour, and are dispersed primarily by birds. == Distribution ==

C. foetidissima is endemic to New Zealand It grows in coastal to sub-alpine forest and shrubland. == Ecology ==

A wide range of endemic insects feed on C. foetidissima, including three species of gall mites in the family Eriophyidae, five species of caterpillars of moths or butterflies in the families Gracillariidae, Tortricidae and Geometridae, eight species of scale insects and sucking bugs in the families Aleyrodidae, Eriococcidae, Diaspididae and Miridae, and larvae of one species of gall fly in the family Cecidomyiidae. == Conservation status ==

C. foetidissima was listed as Not Threatened in the 2023 New Zealand Threat Classification Series for vascular plants. It is listed as Least Concern in the 2025 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ==Gallery==

File:Coprosma foetidissima kz7.jpg File:Coprosma foetidissima kz5.jpg File:Coprosma foetidissima - female flower.jpg File:Coprosma foetidissima 478035518.jpg File:Coprosma foetidissima 465843694.jpg ==References==