Myoporum laetum

Myoporum, ngaio tree, Ngaio Tree

Family: Scrophulariaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Myoporum is a naturalized shrub found along the central and southern California coast, Channel Islands, and reported in northern coastal areas, growing in open grassland, scrub, and riparian habitats at elevations below 460 meters. Flowering in early spring, this plant produces white flowers with distinctive purple spots, approximately 10 millimeters in diameter and bell-shaped with long inner hairs. Growing 3 to 10 meters tall with a broadly spreading, much-branched form, the shrub has bronze-green twig tips and young leaves that are sticky and attractive. Its leaves are bright green, generally lanceolate, less than 10 centimeters long, and finely serrate toward the leaf tips, with a somewhat fleshy texture. The fruit is a fleshy, ovoid structure 5 to 10 millimeters long, ranging from pale to dark red-purple in color.

Habitat: Open areas in grassland, scrub, riparian habitats, generally coastal

Bloom period: Early spring

Elevation: < 460 m

Bioregions: CCo, SCo, ChI, reported from NCo (Sonoma Co.)

California counties: Ventura, Orange, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Monterey, Santa Clara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.