RE: Putaputaweta (Carpodetus serratus)

Sean wrote:

>I was curious to know more about Carpodetus serratus also.  There is a
>very small amount of information on the internet, but not much about
>general culture, growth, etc.  I'm curious to know more about its form
>and branching.  What is the overall appearance of the tree?  How old
>are the trees when the stop having marbled leaves, or are the young
>leaves always marbled?

The young trees have rather more mottled leaves than older, the trunk is 
quite slender and tends to divide quite close to the ground. It would be 
hard to see mottling on an older tree as the leaves are quite small, form a 
canopy well above your head and you only see the undersides, although the 
veins are quite prominent. The small branches are more-or-less horizontal 
while the branches that make up the divided trunk are more-or-less 
vertical. Foliage is not heavy, so you see the trunk clearly. The bark is 
quite attractive being a pale grayish green color when young and with 
numerous irregular white patches over it. As the tree gets older the bark 
nearer to the base darkens, which accentuates the mottling and adds to the 
attraction to my mind. Mature trees can have a spread almost as much as 
their height, young trees tend to be perhaps 3 times as high as they are 
tall.

As far as soil conditions are concerned, one is thriving in an area of very 
poor soil, little topsoil, but good drainage. Two of the others are at the 
top of a steep bank and again have good drainage but a lot more topsoil. 
There seems little to choose between these trees for rate of growth, 
however. The oldest tree is near the foot of a bank next to a wet part of 
the garden, and undoubtedly its roots would be in soil that is permanently 
moist if not wet. This too has grown well. You do have to bear in mind that 
rainfall is high here (2000 mm a year) and there is no such thing as a dry 
season - two weeks without any rain is unusual. Still, the species seems 
pretty tolerant of varied soil conditions in my garden at least.

The following rather more technical description is taken from "The 
Cultivation of New Zealand Trees and Shrubs" by L.J.Metcalf.

"C.	SERRATUS Putaputaweta or marble-leaf
C.	serratus is easily recognised by its pale greyish bark, its toothed 
leaves, which are usually dark green with a lighter marbling on the 
surface, and masses of small white flowers which often cover the tree. In 
the garden it makes a well-shaped, small tree usually 3 to 6 m tall. C. 
serratus may be grown as a taller plant in the mixed shrub border, as an 
isolated specimen tree, or as a small canopy tree to provide shelter and 
light shade for plants underneath. The foliage is prettily marbled and 
handsome at all times of the year and the flowers, although small, are 
abundantly produced. It is very hardy, of moderately quick growth, and 
prefers a deep and good or moderately good soil. It will tolerate quite dry 
situations but under such conditions it tends to become rather stunted. The 
usual method of propagation is by seed, which germinates very freely, but 
it may also be grown from semi-hardwood cuttings. It was first collected in 
Queen Charlotte Sound by Banks and Solander during Captain Cook's first 
voyage.
Botanical description    A small to medium-sized tree 4.5 to 9 m tall, with 
a trunk 15 to 23 cm or more in diameter. Branches spreading. Juvenile 
plants have slender zigzagging almost divaricating branchlets. Young 
branchlets, petioles, peduncles and pedicels pubescent; lenticels prominent 
on bark. Leaves of juveniles 1 to 3 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide, on petioles 
up to 1 cm long, broad-ovate to broad-elliptic or more or less orbicular, 
membranous and sometimes irregularly lobed. Leaves of adults 2.5 to 9.5 cm 
long and 1.6 to 4.5 cm wide, on petioles 7 to 10 mm long. Leaf-blade thinly 
coriaceous, ovate-elliptic to broad-elliptic, acute or obtuse, margins 
sharply and coarsely serrate, teeth with fine points, surface often 
somewhat mottled, midrib more or less pubescent on both surfaces, hairy 
pits or glands in the axils of the main veins with the midrib. Panicles 
many-flowered, about 5 cm wide and high; flowers white about 5 mm in 
diameter; calyx lobes about 1 mm long, triangular-attenuate; petals ovate 3 
to 4 mm long. Capsules about the size of a small pea, surrounded by the rim 
of the receptacle, black when ripe.
Rather common in coastal, lowland and mountain forests and along 
streamsides throughout the North, South and Stewart Islands. Sea level to 
1000 metres. Flowering November to March."

>I am finding no source of seed - perhaps I'll take you up on your offer
>as well.

As I have never collected seed from this species before I cannot promise 
anything, but will try to get some over the summer.

Tim Dutton
"Raindrops", Main Road North, Kaitoke, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
(Latitude 41? 5' South, Longitude 175? 10' East)
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