Coprosma rugosa is a stiff erect native shrub with an orangeish tinge and grows up to 3 m tall. It has many interlacing wide-angled twigs bearing clusters of pairs of very narrow leaves (>14 mm long, >1.5mm wide). It forms extensive thickets in grasslands and forest margins in lowland to subalpine areas on moraines and river terraces. It grows in the North, South and Stewart Islands and is abundant in the mountains of Westland and Canterbury. C. rugosa has inconspicuous flowers which are followed by abundant small pale berries long into autumn. The seeds of the berries are widely dispersed by birds.