Another North Cape, Surville Cliffs ultramafic endemic. Oddly its not listed by Nature Watch NZ (yet another North Cape ultramafic endemic C. distantia which was described first in 2002 as C. obconia subsp. distantia is). Coprosma spathulata subsp. hikurauana was described in 2001 (see de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P. B. 2001: A new Coprosma (Rubiaceae) from the Surville Cliffs, North Cape, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 39(2): 217-223.). Plants lianoid, sprawling under other scrub and low windswept forest. This lianoid habit is genetic, plants in cultivation though very slow growing will in time form prostrate masses several metres across. Once believed to be very uncommon, it is now known that subsp. hikuruana is widespread in its habitat, though easily overlooked because of its penchant for growing under shrubs, often Coprosma neglecta to which it has a superficial similarity.