Carpodetus is a genus of small flowering trees in the family Rousseaceae (order Asterales), formerly placed in Escalloniaceae and originally described under Saxifragaceae by J.R. Forster and G. Forster in 1773. Its species are native to New Guinea, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The genus is characterised by alternate, evergreen leaves and small white flowers with few stamens (typically 5–6), borne in terminal panicles.The best-known species is Carpodetus serratus (marbleleaf, putaputawētā), a monoecious tree reaching up to 10 metres tall. It has a slender trunk with rough, corky, mottled grey-white bark that often becomes knobbled from insect boring. Juvenile plants exhibit distinctive zig-zag branching, and leaves are broad-elliptic to suborbicular, dark green with a marbled appearance, and serrately toothed. Flowers are white with ovate-acute petals 3–4 mm long; the fruit is a subfleshy-fleshy indehiscent capsule 4–6 mm in diameter, maturing to black and containing numerous small seeds. The genus name derives from Greek karpos (fruit) and detus (bound together), referring to seeds clustered together in the berry.
Etymology
The genus name Carpodetus is derived from the Greek words καρπός (karpos, "fruit") and detus ("bound together"), referring to the way seeds are bound together in clusters within the berry. The type species epithet serratus means "saw-toothed," describing the serrated leaf margins.
Distribution
Carpodetus species occur across the southwestern Pacific: New Guinea, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The type species C. serratus is endemic to New Zealand, where it is widespread across the North, South, and Stewart Islands, occurring from coastal to montane elevations (10–1000 m above sea level). It grows in moist broadleaf forest, beech forest, secondary forest, along streamsides, and at forest margins.
Ecology
Carpodetus serratus flowers from November through March and fruits from January to February, though dried fruit can be present year-round. Its fleshy black berries are dispersed by frugivorous birds. The species is a host for the native puriri moth (Aenetus virescens), whose burrowing larvae create characteristic diamond-shaped feeding scars on the trunk — heavy feeding can weaken trees, especially those with thin trunks. It is classified as a facultative upland species (FACU), occasionally occurring in wetlands but typically found in drier upland habitats.
Conservation
Carpodetus serratus is assessed as Not Threatened under the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS), a status consistently recorded in assessments from 2004 through 2023. It is also regionally Not Threatened in Auckland, Otago, and Northland.
Taxonomy
Carpodetus and its type species C. serratus were first described by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster in 1773 and placed in the Saxifragaceae. In 1934, John Hutchinson reassigned the genus to his newly created Escalloniaceae during a major revision of dicotyledon families. Under the modern APG III classification, Carpodetus was moved to the Rousseaceae within the order Asterales. The genus contains 7 accepted species (per GBIF), with C. serratus from New Zealand as the type.
