five finger with leaves spread like an open hand

Size
Height: 5–8 m
Lifespan
50–100 years
Diet
Produces small purple-black berries eaten by native birds including kererū, tūī, and bellbirds. Berries are an important food source for forest birds when other fruits are scarce. Seeds are dispersed by birds, helping tree colonise new areas of regenerating forest.
Habitat
Lowland and montane forests from Northland to Stewart Island. A tree of understorey, shady margins, gaps between giants. Often found along stream banks, on forest edges, and in regenerating bush. Not tall – rarely more than 8 metres – but has presence. Its leaves are unmistakable.
Range
Found throughout the North and South Islands, Stewart Island, and Chatham Islands in lowland and montane forests. Most common in native forests, regenerating bush, and suburban gardens from sea level to 800 metres elevation.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
None significant – this species is widespread and common. Faces no major threats and is popular in suburban gardens for its distinctive foliage and shade tolerance. Also a useful coloniser of disturbed sites in native forest remnants.
Population
Not Threatened. Common throughout New Zealand in lowland forests, regenerating bush, and suburban gardens. A popular ornamental tree, valued for its distinctive foliage and ability to thrive in shade. Not rare. Just a tree that knows how to make an impression.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The one with the hand. Five-finger leaves are compound – divided into five leaflets, arranged like fingers of a hand. Sometimes three leaflets, sometimes seven, but usually five – hence the name. Each leaflet is long, narrow, and toothed, with pointed tip. Leaves are dark green and glossy on top, paler underneath. Held on long, slender stems, drooping slightly, giving tree a relaxed, almost casual appearance. What makes it special? The shape. No other native tree has leaves quite like this. Five leaflets radiate from a central point, like a star or a hand. The effect is striking – a tree that seems to be waving at you, offering a high five. Leaves are tough and leathery, not soft like wineberry, staying on tree all year. The flowers are another clue. Five-finger produces clusters of small, dark purple or blackish flowers in late winter and early spring. Not showy – small and hidden – but heavily scented, a sweet, honey-like perfume that carries on breeze. Scent attracts flies, beetles, and moths, which are tree primary pollinators. The fruit is a small, black berry about size of a pea, produced in clusters. A favourite food of kererū, tūī, and bellbird. Birds eat berries, digest flesh, and carry seeds to new locations. Five-finger depends on its feathered gardeners. The bark is pale grey and smooth, with occasional cracks and lenticels. Trunk usually short and branched, dividing into several main stems. Not a timber tree – wood light and soft – but a favourite of the birds. Biologically, Five-finger is a member of Araliaceae family – same family as ivy and ginseng. A tree of understorey, adapted to low light of forest floor. Its broad, divided leaves capture light that filters through canopy. Grows slowly in shade, waiting for a gap to open, then racing towards light. To stand under a Five-finger is to stand under a canopy of hands. Leaves held out like open palms, catching light, waving in breeze. Flowers hidden, fruit dark, bark smooth. A tree of the middle, the in-between, the space between giants and ground.