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Aristotelia serrata
Also called New Zealand Wineberry
Wineberry (makomako) is a fast-growing, dioecious New Zealand tree that can reach about 10 m and is native to the North, South and Stewart Islands. It thrives in sunny lowland to montane sites and colonises disturbed ground readily.
Aristotelia serrata, commonly known as wineberry and makomako, is a species of small tree in the family Elaeocarpaceae. It is a fast-growing dioecious tree which can be semideciduous. It is endemic to New Zealand. Its range mainly covers the North, South, and Stewart Islands. A. serrata is typically found in lowland to montane environments, and the plant can freely colonise disturbed areas. The tree can reach up to 10 metres (30 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 30 cm (12 in). The bark is grey or pale brown and smooth.
Aristotelia serrata was first described by the German botanists Georg and Johann Foster in 1776 as Dicera serrata, but Walter Oliver gave its current binomial name in 1921. Flowering occurs from September to December, with fruits ripening in summer. A.
Aristotelia serrata's fruits are dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores), such as birds. Burrows (1995) recorded that A. serrata fruits were consumed by native silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis), kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), and New Zealand bellbirds (Anthornis melanura). Several other birds, including the kākā (Nestor meridionalis) and tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) have also been recorded feeding on the fruit.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aristotelia serrata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
