Uncommon evergreen shrub or small tree native from Coromandel to Taranaki. 5-7 leaflets with reddish stalks up to 25cm long. Small red berries in spring. Palatable species protect from stock and possums.

Broadly conical, deciduous. Masses of white flowers before the leaves in spring. Lots of small 2cm pears ripe for the birds in June. Red leaves in early winter. Widely used rootstock for pears. Ornamental in its own right.

4 adjacent plots of Quercus affinis, crispipilis & laurina in the Guthrie Smith Arboretum at Tutira (HB) have produced vigorous straight trunked evergreen trees. Recently thinned to develop the crowns and add diameter to the logs. Worthy of wider planting.

Vigorous, broadly spreading, semi-evergreen in mild climates. Leaves similar in shape to Quercus cerris. Tolerates dry windy conditions. Deer, sheep, goats, ducks and pheasants eat most oak acorns.