About Myoporum laetum G.Forst.
Myoporum laetum G.Forst., commonly called ngaio, is a fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree. It can sometimes reach 10 metres (30 ft) in height, with a trunk up to 0.3 metres (1 ft) in diameter, or spread as wide as 4 metres (10 ft). Young plants are typically dome-shaped, but older specimens become distorted as branches break off. The bark of mature ngaio is thick, corky, and furrowed. Its leaves are lance-shaped, usually between 52–125 millimetres (2–5 in) long and 15–30 millimetres (0.6–1 in) wide. Leaves have many translucent dots, and small serrations along approximately the outer half of their edges. Ngaio produces white flowers marked with purple spots, borne in groups of 2 to 6 on stalks 7–15 millimetres (0.3–0.6 in) long. Each flower has 5 egg-shaped, pointed sepals and 5 petals that join at the base to form a bell-shaped tube 3.5–4.5 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long. The petal lobes are 4.5–5.5 millimetres (0.18–0.22 in) long, giving the flower an overall diameter of 15–20 millimetres (0.6–0.8 in). Four stamens extend slightly beyond the petal tube, and the ovary is superior with 2 locules. Flowering occurs from mid-spring to mid-summer, after which plants produce a bright red drupe fruit 6–9 millimetres (0.2–0.4 in) long. Ngaio grows naturally in coastal areas of New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands, and occurs in lowland forest. It sometimes grows in pure stands, and other times grows alongside other species such as nīkau (Rhopalostylis sapida). Myoporum laetum has been introduced to several other countries, including Portugal, South Africa, and Namibia. The California Exotic Pest Plant Council lists it as an invasive exotic species. The leaves of ngaio contain the liver toxin ngaione, which can cause sickness or death in livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Māori people traditionally rubbed ngaio leaves on their skin to repel mosquitoes and sandflies. Leaf buds and inner bark are used in traditional rongoā Māori medicinal practices to soothe stomach pain or sore gums, and the berries were occasionally eaten as a traditional food source. Due to the presence of the toxin ngaione, consumption of ngaio plant parts is not recommended. Early European settlers to New Zealand used ngaio oil as a sheep dip to protect sheep from parasites.
