New Zealand's native shrubs offer enormous variety for gardeners and landscapers. These adaptable plants range from the honey-producing mānuka to the colorful and diverse hebes. Many native shrubs feature attractive foliage, flowers, and berries while providing important habitat for native birds and insects.
Explore Our Native Shrubs
Mānuka
Leptospermum scoparium
A versatile shrub known for its medicinal honey and beautiful white flowers.
Koromiko
Hebe salicifolia
An adaptable shrub with white flower spikes and traditional medicinal uses.
Kōwhai
Sophora microphylla
New Zealand's unofficial national flower with brilliant yellow blooms in spring.
Kapuka
Griselinia littoralis
A hardy shrub with glossy apple-green leaves, perfect for hedging and coastal gardens.
Kōhūhū
Pittosporum tenuifolium
An elegant shrub with wavy-edged leaves and small fragrant flowers, excellent for hedging.
Akeake
Dodonaea viscosa
A tough, fast-growing shrub with unique seed capsules and striking purplish foliage forms.
Akiraho
Olearia paniculata
A coastal tree daisy with attractive wavy-edged leaves and sweet-scented white flowers.
Horopito
Pseudowintera colorata
The native pepper tree with spicy leaves and striking red-spotted foliage in winter.
Sand Coprosma
Coprosma acerosa
Low-growing coastal shrub with distinctive wire-like branches and translucent blue berries. Important for dune stabilization and coastal restoration.
Shiny karamu (Coprosma lucida)
Shiny karamu is a glossy-leaved shrub with orange fruit, found in lowland forests and forest margins throughout New Zealand.
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Coprosma rhamnoides
Coprosma rhamnoides is a small-leaved shrub found in a variety of habitats, valued for its resilience and bird-attracting berries.
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Taupata (Coprosma repens)
Taupata is a hardy coastal shrub with thick, glossy leaves and orange berries, ideal for windbreaks and coastal gardens.
Kauri
Agathis australis
A majestic conifer, renowned for its massive trunk and longevity, once dominating northern New Zealand forests.
Tītoki (Alectryon excelsus)
A small native tree with glossy leaves and black seeds surrounded by bright red flesh, often used in landscaping.
Aristotelia serrata (Wineberry)
Wineberry is a fast-growing shrub or small tree with edible red berries, attractive to birds and found in regenerating forests.
Toetoe
Austroderia toetoe
Toetoe is a tall, graceful grass with feathery flower plumes, often used for shelter and weaving.
Taraire
Beilschmiedia tarairi
Taraire is a broadleaf tree with large, dark green leaves and purple fruit, important for native birds.
Tawa
Beilschmiedia tawa
Tawa is a tall forest tree with smooth bark and long, narrow leaves, producing edible purple fruit.
Kahikatea
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides
Kahikatea is New Zealand's tallest native tree, found in wetlands and valued for its white berries and timber.
Rimu
Dacrydium cupressinum
Rimu is a graceful conifer with drooping branchlets and reddish wood, a keystone species in native forests.
Wheki-ponga
Dicksonia fibrosa
Wheki-ponga is a tree fern with thick, fibrous trunks and large, arching fronds, common in damp forests.
Wheki
Dicksonia squarrosa
Wheki is a hardy tree fern with slender trunks and rough, shaggy bases, thriving in a range of habitats.
Didymocheton
Didymocheton spectabilis is a rare or little-known New Zealand shrub or small tree, valued for its unique foliage and form in native plantings.
Rewarewa
Knightia excelsa
Rewarewa is a tall tree with narrow leaves and striking red bottlebrush flowers, attracting nectar-feeding birds.
Kanuka
Kunzea ericoides
Kanuka is a fast-growing shrub or small tree with fine foliage and masses of tiny white flowers in summer.
Prince of Wales feathers
Leptopteris superba
Prince of Wales feathers is a delicate fern with finely divided, feathery fronds, found in moist forests.
Pohutukawa
Metrosideros excelsa
Pohutukawa is the iconic coastal tree with brilliant red flowers, known as the New Zealand Christmas tree.
Rata
Metrosideros robusta
Rata is a climbing or tree-forming species with vibrant red flowers, important for forest ecosystems.
Chionochloa flavicans
Miniature toetoe
Miniature toetoe is a compact grass with soft, golden flower heads, ideal for small gardens and borders.
Mountain snowberry (Gaultheria depressa)
Mountain snowberry is a low shrub with small white berries and leathery leaves, found in alpine and subalpine areas.
Ourisia macrophylla
Native foxglove
Native foxglove is a perennial herb with large, white to pink tubular flowers, thriving in moist, shady sites.
Gunnera hamiltonii
Gunnera hamiltonii
Gunnera hamiltonii is a prostrate, mat-forming perennial native to New Zealand, with small, rounded leaves and creeping rhizomes. It thrives in damp, open habitats and is valued for erosion control and as a ground cover in gardens.