page_title: Muehlenbeckia astonii
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Muehlenbeckia astonii / Distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: These flowers are about 3mm across
context_page_description: Muehlenbeckia astonii or shrubby tororaro is an endemic New Zealand shrub in the family Polygonaceae. It has distinctive small heart-shaped deciduous leaves amidst a tangle of wiry interlocking branches. Although common in cultivation around the world, it is extremely rare and threatened in the wild.
context_section_description: This species was probably once widely distributed in the drier lowland and coastal parts of eastern New Zealand, especially on terraced riverbeds, possibly as far south as the Waitaki Valley, South Canterbury. Its former range is hard to determine, as the species was only recognised by botanists decades after most of New Zealand's dry scrublands had been cleared for agriculture. Its deep root system helps it survive in dry conditions, and can grow on open rocky hillsides and stony ground, up to 300 metres (980 ft) altitude. It prefers free-draining, warm, sunny slopes, on moderately- to highly-fertile soil. Today M. astonii is only found in four areas:
  Around Palliser Bay at the southern tip of the North Island, from Honeycomb Light south to Sinclair Head.
  Northeastern Marlborough, currently only from the lower Awatere Valley, the Blind River, Clifford Bay, and Cape Campbell.
  Some sites in North Canterbury discovered in the 1950s and 1960s: Balmoral, Weka Pass, Waikari Stream, Waiau, and along the Waipara River.
  Kaitorete Spit at Lake Ellesmere (containing 90% of the world population), and Birdling's Flat and Lake Forsyth at the southwestern edge of Banks Peninsula.
caption: The flowers of M. astonii are inconspicuous, being pale and only  3 mm across.
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