Lophomyrtus ×ralphii (Hook.f.) Burret

small-leaved ramarama

New Zealand. A naturally occurring hybrid and a suite of artificially created hybrids between L. bullata and L. obcordata.

Lophomyrtus ×ralphii is popular in cultivation and widely available. Many nursery-bred, selected and named cultivars with a range of growth habits and leaf colours have been developed and are commercially available. Often incorporated in amenity landscaping.

Where ramarama (L. bullata) meets with rōhutu (L. obcordata) the hybrid L. ×ralphii is often common. Sometimes L. ×ralphii is locally dominant occurring in places where ramarama is scarce or has seemingly died out. It is fully fertile and often forms introgressive hybrid swarms. Occurs naturally in the North Island and north-eastern South Island of New Zealand – the range of L. bullata. Garden cultivars, derived from hybridism, are grown throughout the North and South Islands.

• Dwarf shrubs to erect branching shrubs or small trees.
• Leaves opposite, leathery, gland-dotted and usually slightly puckered (‘bubbly’, bullate) between veins.
• Leaves sub-orbicular, green, reddish, purple, bronze, yellow-green or variegated; typically to 19 mm long and to 17 mm wide, tip may be notched (as in L. obcordata).
• Flowers solitary, axillary, petals and stamens white.
• Petals and sepals 4.
• Flower and fruit stalks long.
• Fruit a bright red to black, rounded berry, ± 6 mm wide.

Ranges from dwarf shrubs (for some cultivars) to erect branching shrubs to ± 2 metres tall or small trees.

Likely to range between characteristics of parents, slightly fibrous and flaky to smooth with peeling flakes. Young branchlets and stems hairy, becoming hairless with age. Young branchlets 4-angled to begin with then round with age.

Leaves opposite, leathery, gland-dotted, usually sub-orbicular, usually intermediate in size and shape between those of the parent species, to (6–)17–19(–40) mm long, to (7–)8–17(–26) mm wide; leaf size and colour is variable in the cultivars, some of which have reddish, purple, bronze, yellow-green or variegated leaves, lower surface paler than the upper surface or reddish purple, mostly slightly puckered (‘bubbly’), and between the characteristics of the parents; tips often slightly notched; leaf stalks variable in length.

Flowers solitary, axillary, variable in size but less than 12 mm wide, flower stalks present but varying in length, petals 4, white; sepals 4, persistent, tips free, hairy; stamens numerous, white. Main flowering period: late spring to summer.

Fruit a bright red to dark reddish purple to black, rounded berry, 2–3-locular, ± 6 mm wide, seeds solitary to numerous, kidney-shaped.

Most similar to the parents of the hybrid, L. bullata and L. obcordata. Distinguished from them by intermediate leaf size, shape and degree of puckering, as well as leaf colour in cultivated situations. Dwarf habit is most likely to be associated with the hybrid rather than the species.

Lophomyrtus is a genus of two species (L. bullata and L. obcordata) endemic to New Zealand. Many cultivars, involving hybridism of these two species, have been released by nurseries such as the former New Plymouth nursery Duncan and Davies. Among the most popular are: Lophomyrtus ‘Black Beauty’, with a narrow upright growth habit to 2 m tall, and very dark red-brown foliage; ‘Gloriosa’, an upright cultivar to 2 m tall, with cream-edged green leaves that develop pink tones especially in winter; ‘Indian Chief’, with reddish-brown foliage that darkens in winter; ‘Kathryn’, up to 3 m tall, with relatively large bullate leaves that are purplish-brown; ‘Little Star’, a compact selection with small, rounded, cream-edged green leaves that are suffused with pink; ‘Pixie’, another dwarf and compact selection with small, bright, red-brown leaves; and ‘Red Dragon’, up to 1.8 m tall, with narrow red leaves tapering to a point that mature to a dark chocolate shade.

Myrtle rust (caused by Austropuccinia psidii) has been recorded in both parent species (L. bullata and L. obcordata) and in cultivars derived from the hybrids.

• CitSciHub (natural hybrid)
• CitSciHub (hybrids and cultivars)
• GBIF
• iNaturalist NZ