Gahnia setifolia < Species index > Geniostoma ligustrifolium var. ligustrifolium
This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 94, # 5, June 2022
June in the hills with Michele Dickson, Chris Horne
Gaultheria antipoda, tāwiniwini*, Bush snowberry, fool's beech
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Photo: Jeremy Rolfe
Origin of the botanical name
'Gaultheria' is named after the French physician and amateur botanist, Jean François Gaulthier (1708-1756) of Québec; 'antipoda' is derived from ‘antipodean - of the Antipodes’. It is a member of the Ericaceae or heath family.
- Tāwiniwini is one of the shrub's several te reo names. The source of the term ‘fool's beech’ is the similarity in appearance between its serrated leaves and those of silver beech.
Distribution and habitat
Bush snowberry is endemic to Aotearoa. It is found throughout the country in lowland to montane shrubland and on open sites and rocky places, up to an altitude of about 1,500 m.
Growth habit
Tāwiniwini is a shrub up to ca. 2 m tall. The branchlets bear fine bristles. The shiny serrate leaves, 7-10 mm x 6-10 mm, have a prominent vein network. They are leathery, almost rounded and alternate on the branchlets.
Reproduction
Bush snowberry's small bell-shaped white flowers develop in the angle between a branchlet and the leaf stalk and appear in spring and summer. The fruit is dry, surrounded by an enlarged, more or less fleshy, five-lobed, white-to-red-to-purplish calyx up to ca. 10 mm diameter.
Uses
Tāwiniwini's calyx lobes, often called ‘berries’, are edible. They range from juicy and sweet to dry and tasteless. The plant contains oil of wintergreen; boiling the leaves makes a decoction that can be added to a poultice applied to wounds or taken internally as a treatment for asthma and bronchitis.
Where can you find tāwiniwini?
Look for bush snowberry in Lower Hutt's Hayward Scenic Reserve, East Harbour Regional Park and in the Remutaka, Akatarawa and Tararua ranges.
In The Hills 2022-05 < Index chronological > In The Hills 2022-07