Myoporum laetum Ngaio / Mousehole Tree is one of New Zealand's toughest, most generous, and most ecologically valuable coastal natives. A fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree, Ngaio bears thick, glossy yellow-green to dark green heavily spotted leaves and clusters of white flowers with purplish spots in spring and summer, followed by small purple oval berries loved by birds. Ngaio is drought and coastal hardy and can effectively control sound, wind, sun, and blowing sand, making it an excellent choice for a screen or canopy shade tree. It forms a rounded crown with spreading branches, often developing a wonderfully gnarled and windswept character in exposed coastal positions and responds beautifully to heavy trimming, making it as suitable for formal hedging as it is for naturalistic planting.
