Coprosma hirtella is a shrub in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It grows to about 2 metres high and has leaves that are between 15 and 50 mm long and 10 to 25 mm wide.[1] Plants have male and female flower clusters that appear between August and April.[1] These are followed by orange to reddish fruits that are 7 to 8 mm in diameter.[2]
The species was formally described by French botanist Jacques Labillardière in 1805, based on plant specimens collected in Tasmania. It is a common plant of moist montane forests in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.[1]
The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records "Fruit sweet, eatable, not agreeable. The fruits of other species may be eaten also."[3]