Pomaderris pilifera

Coast Dogwood

There are currently less than 250 mature individuals of P. apetala subsp. maritima in New Zealand
Therefore, the subspecies is considered to be ‘Nationally Critical’ according to the criteria defined by Townsend and colleagues in 2008
Within Victoria, P. apetala subsp. apetala and P. apetala subsp. maritima are considered rare and vulnerable respectively
For this assessment, ‘rare’ is used for taxa that are not considered to be threatened, but have populations that are small in size or confined to a small area. ‘Vulnerable’ is used for taxa that are not presently in danger, but may soon decline because their populations are located in areas threatened by land use change
P. apetala is also located within three of Tasmania's threatened plant communities currently listed under Tasmania’s Nature Conservation Act 2002
These are Eucalyptus viminalis Wet Forest, Riparian Scrub, and Notelaea-Pomaderris-Beyeria Forest (also known as dry rainforest)

Etymology:

Flowers:

Inflorescence consists of large panicles with pale yellow, cream, or greenish coloured flowers
Flowers are also small, exist in terminal clusters, have no petals, and have ovaries which are practically inferior
The sepals are persistent, bracts deciduous, and the operculum is membranous
Pedicels are 1-5mm long, inflorescences 5–25 cm long, 2–13 cm wide, hypanthium 1-1.5mm long, and sepals 1.5-2.1mm long

Fruit:

Fruits are 3-celled capsules
These capsules open via 3 valves
Flowering occurs from October to November, and fruits appear from December to January

Leaves:

Leaves generally more than twice as long as wide, about 40-110mm long, and 20-30mm wide
The leaf apex is normally acute
The adaxial surface is glabrescent, and is occasionally stellate-pubescent, smooth or wrinkled
Leaves are narrow-ovate to elliptic in shape, and have slightly serrated margins
Leaves are also stalked and alternately arranged
On the adaxial surface, leaves are dark green with deeply impressed veins
On the abaxial surface, leaves are a pale greyish colour and have prominent veins covered with fine, greyish-brown, dense, sessile star-shaped hairs

Stem & branches:

Roots:

Habit:

Typically exists as a shrub 1-3m tall
- This plant can grow 1- 15m tall in southern Australia
- In New Zealand plants only grow up to 4m tall

Habitat:

Distribution:

Both subspecies of P. apetala are located within Tasmania and Victoria, however only P. apetala subsp. maritima is located in NZ
In Victoria, P. apetala subsp. apetala is located in the Greater Grampians and Highlands-Southern Fall bioregions, whereas P. apetala subsp. maritima is located within the Gippsland Plain and Wilsons Promontory bioregions
In New Zealand, P. apetala is mostly restricted to the northern island and the northern section of the mainland
P. apetala subsp. apetala is widespread across Tasmania, whereas P. apetala subsp. maritima is mostly restricted to Flinders Island, and the northern and eastern coasts of Tasmania
P. apetala can be found on the margins of fern gullies and stream edges. P. apetala is also a common riparian species in south eastern Tasmania
P. apetala subsp. maritima has been recorded on low dunes and sea cliffs
In Tasmania, P. apetala is usually one of the main components of the Tasmanian wet sclerophyll forest understorey
However, P. apetala is known to occur more commonly in wet sclerophyll forests on fertile sites
P. apetala can also form canopies in dry rainforests
These forests tend to reside within fire protected gullies and scree slopes of dryer sites
P. apetala has also been recorded within mixed forest and rainforest sites that have been disturbed by logging or fire

Additional notes:

Sources of information:

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