forest margins and edges of the montane and lowland forests in the southern alps at the start of the Canterbury planes. Karamu can also be found in the urban environment of many Christchurch city green spaces (e.g. park like Riccarton Bush). Habitat preferences Karamu can be widely found near coastal, lowland and lower montane areas. It can also grow within shrub lands and expansive areas within dense trees such as lowland forest. However, the population decreases in lowland forest such as beech and kahikatea forests. Normally karamu is a hardy plant that can adapt to infertile soils, poorly drained and exposed lands. It can also grow in a large range of altitude varying from under full sun to shady, windy and frosty circumstances. Life cycle/phenology In New Zealand the flowering season of karamu is from winter (approximately from July) to summer (ends around December). Male and female flowers are separated which is called dioecious. Seeds mature by about April and start germinating soon afterwards and doesn't leave a long lasting seed bank. The seed is largely dispersed by birds which eat the fruit. Due to its hardy characteristics, it is easy growing from seed even on open sites. Again, as mentioned before, the best season for C. robusta fruiting is between April and May. It would finally grow up to six meters high and will normally act as a secondary succession plant during this process. Ecology Growing conditions Karamu is an extremely hardy plant that can grow in a large range of environmental conditions from full sun to shady, from dry to moist, and can tolerate frost and wind. The mature fruit can endure a minimum temperature to and the leaves can endure a minimum temperature before they get irretrievably damaged. It grows best in a moist soil which is not too acid, although they have the ability to live in poor soils. They can also be found in coastal conditions, lowland scrub, swamps and rock associations. Predators Herbivorous mammals such as goats (Capra hircus) and deer (Cervus elaphus) have a severe impact on karamu, and hares (Lepus timidus) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) eat the seedlings.(Brockie, 1992). Additional consumers of karamu are Batracomorphus, Batracomorphus adventitiosus, leafhoppers and Membracoidea. Interactions Birds which disperse karamu seeds include native bellbirds (Anthornis melanura) and Tuis (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), indigenous silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis), and introduced blackbirds (Turdus merula), and song thrushes (Turdus philomelos). Seeds can be