[1] Coprosma ernodeoides is a prostrate shrub with narrow, shiny, tightly packed, dark-green, opposite leaves.

[2] The flowers are small, and the most obviously visible features are the 8-20 mm pale style branches.

[1] Coprosma ernodeoides inhabits a variety of open alpine sites, from lava and cinder fields to forest and shrublands.

[3] The Hawaiian name kūkaenēnē means "nēnē dung" due to the resemblance of the fruit to the feces of the nēnē, coincident with the etymology of the name of the genus Coprosma which means "smelling like dung".

[1] This species was described by Asa Gray in 1860 based on specimens collected by Archibald Menzies.