Chances are, if you have a near-perfect leaf skeleton with an intricate vein pattern, you have a decayed mahoe leaf.
This small tree is common in forest from the coast to lower montane areas throughout the country. These leaves can reach 15cm in length.
Mahoe begins flowering in late spring and summer, small flowers abundantly cladding the stems.
Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees.
The male tree will produce larger yellowish flowers that are beautifully scented, while the female trees have more diminutive greenish flowers.
Their show is in late summer to early autumn when the fruit ripens. The fruit is abundant, too, covering the stems with gorgeously purple berries.
The bark of mahoe, as the English name whiteywood suggests, is greyish-white, often splotched with lichen.
The wood is soft and was once used to produce charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. It was used to make fire by friction, by rubbing it with a piece of kaikomako wood.
• Mahoe is known botanically as Melicytus ramiflorus and is a member of the violet family, Violaceae.
• Berries are eaten by birds such as kereru, tui and wax-eyes.
• Leaves are highly palatable and have been used as fodder for cattle and horses in dry seasons.
• Mahoe is fruiting now and can be seen on the margins of the bush areas on the hillside between the upper and lower botanic garden.
- Shirley Stuart is curator of the native plant collection at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
