wiry vine that throttles the forest floor

Size
Height: 10–15 m
Lifespan
50–100 years
Diet
Produces small, white flowers in summer followed by small, 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. Flowers sweetly scented, attracting bees and other insects.
Habitat
Lowland and montane forests throughout New Zealand. A specialist of the thick and damp, thriving in forest interiors where roots stay cool in mud while its head searches for the sun.
Range
Found throughout the North and South Islands, Stewart Island, and Chatham Islands in lowland and montane forests. Most common in native forests, particularly in damp, shady areas with deep leaf litter and abundant moisture.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
None significant – this species is widespread and common throughout New Zealand. In some areas of regenerating bush, it forms impenetrable thickets that act as natural fortress for ground-dwelling birds. Not rare and faces no major threats.
Population
Not Threatened. In some areas of regenerating bush, it is so successful that it can form impenetrable thickets that act as a natural fortress for ground-dwelling birds. Not rare. Just very, very good at being in the way.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The underworld architect of the New Zealand canopy. Supplejack blueprint is a study in efficient, skeletal engineering. For the first few years of its life, it does not look like a plant at all. It emerges from the forest floor as a smooth, black, leafless finger that looks like a piece of electrical cable. It has no leaves because it does not want to waste energy on photosynthesis in the dark understorey. Instead, it behaves like a heat-seeking missile, growing at incredible speed – up to 5 centimetres a day – using its coiled, searching tip to find a host tree to climb. Once it finds a trunk, it winds itself upward in a tight, clockwise spiral, hitching a ride to the light. The blueprint is designed for extreme tensile strength. The vine is not wood, but a dense, fibrous core encased in a smooth, dark brown or black skin that is almost impossible to break by hand. Incredibly flexible when green but becomes as rigid as iron when dried. When the vine finally reaches sunlight at the top of the canopy – often 30 metres up – it undergoes a dramatic transformation: it finally grows leaves. These leaves are large, shiny, and oval-shaped, creating a dense mat on top of the host tree crown. Because the vine is so heavy and persistent, it can eventually strangle its host or pull down old, rotting trees during a storm, acting as the forest natural demolition crew. Biologically, Supplejack is a nectar bar in the rafters. In summer, it produces small, green flowers that turn into bright red berries the size of a marble. These berries are a high-energy superfood for kererū, kākā, and tūī, who risk getting tangled in the vines just to reach the fruit. Even more interesting is the edible secret of Supplejack: the very tip of the growing vine, before it hardens into black wire, is succulent and tastes remarkably like fresh asparagus. To the forest explorer, Supplejack is the ultimate gatekeeper. It creates a 3D grid that forces you to slow down, look at your feet, and acknowledge that in this part of the world, the plants are the ones who set the pace.