Coprosma hirtella

Coprosma hirtella is a small evergreen shrub in the Rubiaceae family, native to south-eastern Australia where it grows in damp eucalypt forest and along stream margins. The plant typically reaches one to three metres in height and bears rough, hairy, ovate leaves arranged in opposite pairs along slender, finely pubescent stems. Small, greenish, inconspicuous flowers appear in spring, with male and female structures borne on separate plants. After successful pollination by wind, female plants develop bright reddish-orange drupes about six millimetres across, each containing two stones. The bark is greyish-brown and somewhat fissured on older specimens. Like other members of the genus, the species is moderately frost-tolerant and prefers moist, well-drained soils in partial shade. It plays a minor ecological role as a food plant for native birds, which disperse the seeds.