# Houpara

*Pseudopanax lessonii*

Its thick, leathery leaves are specifically adapted with a waxy cuticle to withstand harsh, salty winds that would wither other forest plants.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Apiales › Araliaceae › Pseudopanax
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Coastal forests, rocky cliffs, and scrublands
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- **Range:** New Zealand (North Island coasts and offshore islands)
- **Size:** Shrub or small tree growing up to 6 meters (20 feet) tall
- **Lifespan:** 50 to 100 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Coastal development, habitat fragmentation, and browsing by introduced pests such as possums and goats.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This plant is completely safe to approach, touch, and photograph. Avoid breaking branches or harvesting leaves to preserve the wild specimen. While not known to be highly toxic, ingestion of wild plants is not recommended.

## About

Pseudopanax lessonii , or houpara , is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Araliaceae. Houpara is a shrub or tree up to 6 m tall, with stout branches. The leaves are crowded towards the tips of branchlets, and are 3- to 5- foliolate. Juvenile plants have larger leaves than adults. The petioles are 5-15 cm long.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/2d60231d-2747-43be-a713-378249b5f7d3
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/405342
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudopanax lessonii
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3329650/medium.jpg (Peter de Lange, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.