Pittosporum tenuifolium         Rhamnaceae

Tawhiwhi, Kohuhu                pi-TOS-po-rum ten-ew-i-FO-lee-um

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub or tree to over 30 ft (~10 m) high, densely branched, slender stems which on young shoots are gray to nearly black.  Leaves alternate, simple, obovate to oblong or elliptic, 3-10 cm long, margins flat, revolute or undulated, glabrous (lacking hairs), dull glazed.  Flowers, usually in 2s, borne in leaf axils, purple-brown, honey-like fragrance,  Fruit 10-12 mm wide, sphere-like, wrinkled at maturity, thin walls.
• Sun to part shade.  Best in moist but well-drained fertile soil.  Tolerates maritime exposure.  
• Hardy to USDA Zone 8   Native to New Zealand, and apparently has natualized in parts of Australia and California.  Over 25 cultivars are offered in the nusery trade.
• tenuifolium: with thin leaves, tenui, thin; folium, leaves.