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Tree Coprosma is rated fire resistant, though the support comes from limited primary evidence.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand places Tree Coprosma in its low flammability category, one step above very low on its seven-level scale. Among 60 tree and shrub species tested for a 2016 International Journal of Wildland Fire study, Tree Coprosma's shoots fell in the low/moderate cluster. Those samples were air-dried for 24 hours before testing, so the finding belongs to that preparation and method.
A separate flammability-traits database reports a 50 percent ignition frequency when branches were dried before grill testing. The database does not impose a universal threshold that turns measurements from different plant parts, devices, and studies into resistant or flammable verdicts, so 50 percent does not overturn the two classifications.
Taken together, the two classifications support calling Tree Coprosma fire resistant. The careful reading is low to low/moderate flammability in controlled shoot tests, not a guarantee that every whole tree will resist ignition under all conditions.
Form
tree
Region
New Zealand
Rated in
Global; New Zealand
On this lot
1. Fire evidence and conditions
Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions
Fire ecology context
Placement evidence
Evidence regions
Global; New Zealand
Maintenance
2. Why this plant is relevant here
State distribution
Native range
Introduced / established
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
Recommends (2)
Low Flammability Plants directory — Fire and Emergency New Zealand (plant flammability testing at Lincoln University) · 2026 · original sourcePrimary evidenceLab-testedlineage: lincoln-nz-tree
14 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND.
“ignition frequency (%): 50”
FLAMITS record 1360; Ignitability measurement.
“maximum sample temperature (°C): 248.4”
FLAMITS record 1554; Combustibility measurement.
“burning duration (s): 1”
FLAMITS record 1748; Sustainability measurement.
“estimated burnt biomass (%): 8.8”
FLAMITS record 1942; Consumability measurement.
Primary study Mason2016: Mason, N. W. H., Frazao, C., Buxton, R. P., & Richardson, S. J. (2016). Fire form and function: evidence for exaptive flammability in the New Zealand flora. Plant Ecology, 217, 645-659.
Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Mason2016-19; sampling summer.
Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-1; sampling ND.
