poroporo

Solanum laciniatum

Habit: Large shrub.

Claims to fame: The fruit are edible when ripe, but it is otherwise poisonous.   It has been commercially cultivated in Taranaki and the former Soviet Union for the production of steroid hormones for birth control and relieving rheumatoid arthritis.

Traditional uses: The unripe, green fruit, as well as the leaves, are poisonous.  But the fruit can be eaten when ripe, being orange and with bursting skin.  Used for making jam by early European colonists (Crowe, 2004, A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand, Penguin).  Also used to treat skin problems (Brooker et al., 2002, New Zealand Medicinal Plants, Reed).

Distribution/ecology: Margins of lowland forests, through the North Island and the South Island except for the far south.  Also occurs in Australia.

Relationships: Very similar to Solanum aviculare, which is also native to New Zealand but is much rarer.  Tomatoes, potatoes, woolly nightshade, and black nightshade are just a few of the many species in Solanum.

Identification: The large marginal ‘teeth’ on at least some of the leaves; the purple flowers with yellow anthers; and the large green-to-orange fruit.  Solanum aviculare differs in having its flowers more clearly cut into five distinct petals.

Bush City locations: Near the upper entrance.