John and I went for a walk a few days ago down the old road at Struan Farm after all of the recent rain. Things happen on the property during storms, and this time was no exception. A few slips will need to be cleaned up.
Rather too bad about that huge ponga/tree fern, but perhaps we can get it rightside up and it might grow again....
But the big news is that walking along I noticed a native "Kawakawa" plant growing by the side of the track, Macropiper excelsum. I have never come across it in our bush before, so was very excited! The heart shaped leaves are quite distinctive.
I dug out our native field guides to learn more: "A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand," and "The Reed Field Guide to New Zealand Native Trees." While we have a few other books on native plants and trees, as you might suspect, these two had the best information. Turns out there are male and female trees. I won't know what gender we have until summer, when the male grows clusters of phallic looking spikes, and the female grows berries. The berries are edible and were a food source for Maori, while the leaves are sometimes made into tea.
It's great to see more variety of native plants regenerating here at Struan Farm!
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