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Hinau is a lowland forest tree native to New Zealand, growing up to about 18 m with dark green, toothed leaves and fleshy fruit. It is best grown in rich, moist soil in partial shade.
Elaeocarpus dentatus, commonly known as hinau (Māori: hīnau), is a native lowland forest tree of New Zealand. Other names in Māori for the tree are hangehange, pōkākā, and whīnau.
A member of the family Elaeocarpaceae, it is found on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, but not on Stewart Island. The leaves are dark green, with a toothed edge. On the underside of the leaf, small domatia are present. Clusters of small white flowers are produced in spring, and in late summer the flowers form into a fleshy fruit.
E. dentatus prefers a rich, moist soil in partial shade. To grow, press the seed well in and cover with 5mm of soil. It takes around 6 months to germinate and fresh fruit can be used.
The fruit are eaten off the ground by North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) who use the seeds as grinding agents to help break down food in their gizzards. To kākā on Kapiti Island, the drupes are an important food source especially in March and, for males, from March all the way until June. This is thought to be because of the different shaped mandible which females have as the fruit actually harden in the months following March, meaning the females are unable to break into them to get at the developing seed, the part that kākā eat. Kākā also rely heavily on hinau and tawa trees to feed their young, both because of their prevalence on the island and their abundant crop of fruit. Weka (Gallirallus australis) eat the fruit which falls onto the ground and are thought to be very important dispersers after the extinction of many of New Zealand's other flightless birds. Hinau seeds may also germinate better after the coat has been torn open and the weka's gizzard might have a similar effect, though more research is needed.
Elaeocarpus achmadii · Elaeocarpus acmosepalus · Elaeocarpus amoenus · Blue Quandong · Elaeocarpus arnhemicus · Kuranda quandong · Kalia · Rudrakhsa Tree · Bois dentelle · Elaeocarpus brigittae · Elaeocarpus calomala · Elaeocarpus carbinensis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Elaeocarpus dentatus 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.
