Leaf damage does not affect leaf loss or chlorophyll content in the New Zealand pepper tree, kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum)
Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum) is an understorey, forest tree which sustains conspicuous and substantial herbivory from the larvae of a geometrid moth, Cleora scriptaria.. This study examined the relationship between leaf abscission and the amount of damage a leaf had sustained. In the field, kawakawa trees showed no increase in the rate of leaf shedding in response to experimental damage by C. scriptaria larvae or to artificial damage produced by a hole punch, even when 90% of the leaf area was removed.