Pittosporum tenuifolium Kōhūhū / Black Matipo is one of New Zealand's most versatile, widely loved, and easily grown native trees, and a cornerstone of native gardens and revegetation plantings from Northland to Southland. A fast-growing evergreen, Kōhūhū features distinctive wavy-edged green leaves on striking dark stems, and produces small, sweetly scented purple flowers in spring.
Those flowers are something special, their colour deepens from dark red to near-black as they age, and they fill the evening air with a rich honey fragrance, attracting moths and night-flying insects that are among New Zealand's most important indigenous pollinators. Quick and easy to grow in sun or shade, Kōhūhū can be clipped into any size or form, making it excellent as a screen or hedge.
