Common name: Kava, Pepper Tree, Kawa Kawa
Piper excelsum subsp. psittacorum (Endl.) de Lange APNI* Synonyms: Piper excelsum var. majus Cheeseman APNI*
Piper excelsum var. major orth. var. Cheeseman APNI*
Piper excelsum var. psittacorum (Endl.) C.DC. APNI*
Macropiper excelsum f. psittacorum (Endl.) A.C.Sm. APNI*
Macropiper excelsum subsp. psittacorum (Endl.) Sykes APNI*
Macropiper excelsum var. majus (Cheeseman) Allan APNI*
Piper psittacorum Endl. APNI*
Macropiper psittacorum (Endl.) Miq. APNI*
Macropiper excelsum var. psittacorum (Endl.) Laing APNI*
Description: Shrub to 1.5 m tall, branching from base.
Leaves slightly aromatic and peppery; lamina broadly ovate to suborbicular, (5-) 8–10 (-15) cm long, (6-) 8–10 (-17) cm broad; base cordate to rounded passing through a shallow 'V'-shape onto petiole; apex slightly but distinctly acuminate; principal nerves 5–7 (-9); petioles grooved, 2–5 (-7) cm long.
Spikes solitary or usually paired; male spikes to 16 cm long; female spikes 4–8 cm long. Ovary ovoid; stigmas 4 (rarely 3); subtending peltate scales c. 1.5–2 mm diam.
Fruiting spike yellow to orange, sweet, 1.2–1.4 cm diam. Fruit fleshy, coalescent, with dimpled apex. Seeds ellipsoidal, c. 2 mm long, grooved with 4 (rarely 3) furrows, hard, peppery.
Flowering: July – October.
Distribution and occurrence: confined to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Kermadec Island and some islands off the north coast of New Zealand. Growing in forest communities and forest margins.
NSW subdivisions: LHI
Piper excelsum subsp. excelsum occurs in New Zealand and the Chatham Islands.
Text by B.J. Conn following P.S. Green (1994), as Macropiper excelsum subsp. psittacorum (Endl.) Sykes; updated March 2017
Taxon concept: P.J. de Lange, Taxonomic notes on the New Zealand flora: new names in Piper (Piperaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 50 (4): 485-487 (2012).
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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