Is Pittosporum patulum Hook. f. threatened by pest herbivory in eastern South Island, New Zealand?
We examined the threat status of the low tree Pittosporum patulum throughout its range in eastern South Island, based on plot-based sampling of habitat, defoliation by mammalian herbivores, demographic and dieback characteristics. Using environmental modelling (Land Environments of New Zealand), we found no explanation for the ‘gap’ in its disjunct distribution from Nelson–Marlborough–north Canterbury to south Canterbury as a component of upper montane Nothofagus forest and non-Nothofagus subalpine scrub.