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Hedycarya arborea
Pigeonwood is a New Zealand shrub or small tree (up to about 12 m) with glossy dark green leaves and bright orange to red fruit. It thrives in shade and damp conditions, so it suits woodland gardens rather than open sun.
Hedycarya arborea, commonly known as pigeonwood and porokaiwhiri, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Monimiaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand; its range covers the North and South Islands. It is also found on the Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands. The species is highly shade-tolerant and is commonly found in wet environments. It reaches a height of up to 12 metres (40 feet) and produces bright orange to red fruits.
Hedycarya arborea was first scientifically described in 1776 by the German naturalists Georg and Johann Reinhold Forster. H. arborea is primarily wind-pollinated. The fruits are dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores), such as birds. The fruits are not edible and may be poisonous. The indigenous Māori people did not traditionally eat the fruits, although they did use the tree as a source of timber, and the leaves had some medicinal uses. H.
Hedycarya arborea's seeds are dispersed by fruit-eating animals (frugivores), such as birds. Several birds have been recorded as seed dispersers, such as blackbirds (Turdus merula), kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), kōkako (Callaeas), tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), song thrushes (Turdus philomelos), and weka (Gallirallus australis). The extinct huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) ate them too. H. arborea is primarily wind-pollinated. Leaves are eaten by introduced deer and goats, while possums instead prefer eating the buds and flowers. Rats also eat the fruits of the tree. H. arborea plays host to the endemic insects Lasiorhynchus barbicornis and Calliprason sinclairi.
The wood of Hedycarya arborea is soft and not very durable. The indigenous Māori people used the timber to make various musical instruments and digging sticks. H. arborea had some medicinal uses for Māori; it is known they used the leaves in vapour baths. They did not traditionally eat the fruits, and Wardle (2011) notes that The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand classifies the plant as poisonous. The plant has been suspected of poisoning cattle, and a dose of 14 grams (0.5 ounces) of leaves per 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight was lethal to sheep.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hedycarya arborea 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.
