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Beauty, Sustenance, Healing, and Pioneering Spirit - a smorgasbord of makomako's essential qualities



Aristotelia serrata, also known as makomako or wineberry, is a remarkable tree.  It thrives in disturbed sites like cleared forests, burnt land or fallen trees.  This pioneer species quickly establishes and spreads, offering essential shelter for slower-growing native plants. This process ensures the long-term health of the ecosystem.




This endemic small tree belongs to the Elaeocarpaceae family of mostly tropical and subtropical flowering plants.

Growing to a height of approximately 4 - 9m, it is found throughout New Zealand, inhabiting lowland to montane forests (1050m). Commonly found on fertile, well-drained soils of young terraces and alluvial fans.

Its light green leaves are thin, heart-shaped, and sharply serrated, often with a striking purplish-pink underside.



The bark of makomako is grey to pale brown, smooth and patterned with flat lenticels (a porous tissue that functions as a pore— a pathway for the direct exchange of gases). The young branchlets are  typically light to dark red.

Flowering starts in September and continues through to December. The inflorescences are found in panicles which are 6 - 10 cm long, with individual flowers ranging in colours from white-pink to dark red, possibly to better adapt them to pollinators— birds and insects. The nectar from the flowers is consumed by the stitchbird [hihi], while the native weevils prefer the pollen.




Fruiting follows from November to January, and the fleshy berries are enjoyed by many native birds like the kererū, bellbirds, tūī, kākā and also the silvereye, providing the seed dispersal service for this species. The fruit is also edible for humans and can be eaten raw or made into jellies and jams. The name 'wineberry' was given to makomako by the early European settlers who used the berries to produce wine.




A significant plant in Rōngoa Māori (traditional Māori medicine), it's known for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent properties. The bark also produces a blue-black coloured dye, used for dying flax, mats and fabrics. The infusion made from boiled bark and leaves was used to treat burns, rheumatism, arthriris and general joint and muscle aches.


Disclaimer: This information is based on traditional knowledge (rongōa) and should not replace modern medical advice.


Source:


New Zealand Plant Conservation Network 2025. Retrieved from http://www.nzpcn.org.nz

iNaturalist NZ. Retrieved from http://www.inaturalist.nz

University of Auckland. Retrieved from http://www.nzplants.auckland.ac.nz

Treading Lightly Over Rugged Ground: The Dualism of Veronica densifolia

Though its foliage appears shadowy among fragmented rock landscapes, Veronica densifolia's blooms are like painterly drifts reminiscent of remnant snow. Both morphological traits express the dynamic processes inherant to native alpine plant communities.


Veronica densifolia flower | hebejeebie, snow hebe (Aus) | Photo by E. Hanzel
Veronica densifolia flower | hebejeebie, snow hebe (Aus) | Photo by E. Hanzel

Subtly emerging from schist and granite crevices, this diminutive plant is almost imperceptible, the petite leaves nearly indiscernible among otherwise tawny and weathered terrain, but for its solitary purple buds and palest lilac blossoms. Native Veronica densifolia (commonly hebejeebie, or snow hebe in Australia) inhabits subalpine-alpine environments (1150-1830m), fellfield (stable rock-strewn landscapes dominated by low plants above the timberline, among such snow), bluffs and outcrops, damp crevices in rock tors and outcrops, and moist peaty hollows or seepage sites in the South Island.


Fragmented schist landscape, and alpine grasshopper (Sigaus sp.), indicative of V. densifolia habitat | Lake Alta, The Remarkables | Photo by E. Hanzel
Fragmented schist landscape, and alpine grasshopper (Sigaus sp.), indicative of V. densifolia habitat | Lake Alta, The Remarkables | Photo by E. Hanzel

A recumbent subshrub, it navigates these craggy surfaces on woody horizontal stems, with numerous minute branches ascending no more than 5mm high in a trailing mat-like habit. The olivey-brown, even rust-coloured foliage can be glabrous or pubescent, but is importantly composed of imbricate (overlapping), tightly appressed lance-shaped or narrowly ovate leaves. The interior of each leaf exhibits discernible concave curvature with fleshy recurved margins. The arrangement of leaves, and the trichomes more common on the leaf exteriors, are morphological adaptations to trap heat and reduce transpiration and desiccation against high winds, uv exposure, and frost. Adapted to such unstable and impoverished soils, it is sensitive to humidity and also drought, but receives moisture in the microhabitats created by fractured, eroded rock. Prostrate and shying away in these niches, it is protected from the most abrasive conditions and competition from denser vegetation.


Veronica densifolia (F.Muell.) F.Muell., collected 21 January 2021, Harris Mountains, End Peak, just east of 'dead horse lakes' wetland, New Zealand. CC BY 4.0. Te Papa (SP111052)
Veronica densifolia (F.Muell.) F.Muell., collected 21 January 2021, Harris Mountains, End Peak, just east of 'dead horse lakes' wetland, New Zealand. CC BY 4.0. Te Papa (SP111052)

The single, sessile (attached to the stem) flower is more reminiscent of the oft-maligned Oxalis (false shamrock) than New Zealand's more typical Veronica (formerly Hebe) species which bear profuse racemes. This is a notable distinction from genera, including Veronica, occurring at lower elevations, which display greater colour and inflorescence diversity. In alpine plant communities, flowers are most typically white or yellow and possess an almost disproportionate open, bowl-shaped corolla as pollination occurs primarily by hymenopteran insects during the short alpine summers. This is further characterised by non-specialist flies (syrphids), native moths, beetles, and small solitary bees, rather than long-tongued social bees or bird species, providing an important food resource in the South Island's high-altitude pollinator networks.


A flowering period of November-January aligns with seasonal snowmelt, providing necessary moisture during the plant's energy-intensive reproductive processes. Fruits emerge January-March, but may persist throughout the year. Seed dispersal for the ensuing hygrochastic capsules is characterised by minor ballistic projection in response to water and sometimes wind, opening only during rainfall events and usually in nearby micro-niches, allowing for successful germination and colonization of growing areas.



Hybridisation has rarely been observed, but includes V. densifolia x V. thomsonii (V. uniflora Kirk). Veronica densifolia exhibiting triffid leaves suggests hybridization with V. trifida. Of more familiar species, it is most like parahebe (Veronica lyalli) a tender perennial shrub of the subalpine region, but well adapted to most New Zealand gardens. Low-growing and compact, it displays similarly sprightly white flowers with violet-pink nectar guides that persist summer through autumn. It prefers well-drained but evenly moist soils in sun or light shade.



Though evidently slightly mighty and currently listed "not-threatened" among such a challenging terrain, the species is susceptible to physical habitat disturbance and species competition (invasive). Such introduced flowering species may make native alpine pollinator-plant dynamics vulnerable to the integration of non-native pollination mutualists.


This Veronica and and other alpine species are also vulnerable to climate change as altered snowmelt reduces appropriate habitat and germination capability.

Exquisite olearia moth and its humble host the scented coastal tree daisy - Olearia solandri

scented tree daisy, Olearia solandri
Olearia solandri with its vanilla-scented flowers.

Meterana exquisita & Olearia solandri

The mutualistic relationship between these two species, one from the insect and the other from the plant kingdom, ensures both not only survive but thrive. Both are dependent on each other.



The plant species - Olearia solandri -  occurs naturally through much of the North Island and in southern Marlborough and western Nelson in the South Island. Typically found on the coast, rocky outcrops, and edges of tidal estuaries, in both wet and dry habitats. This quick-growing shrub, with its golden hue of new growth, can reach up to 4m in height and spread to about 2m, though often shorter when exposed to salt-laden coastal winds.


Olearia solandri
Olearia solandri - mature specimen. Photo by Gabriela V.

The leaves are small, about 1cm long and 2-3 millimetres wide, linear, coloured light green to deep green with yellowish hair underneath. In exposed conditions, they roll under to protect the plant from excessive moisture loss. The white flowers, which appear in late summer/early autumn, might only be about 1cm accross , however, the cumulative effect of en masse flowering creates a sight to behold and, together with the unmistakeable vanilla-like scent, make this species very attractive indeed. As with the other members of the Aster family, the seeds are equipped with tiny parachutes that assist with the wind dispersal of this species.

Due to several factors, including habitat loss through land development, browsing by introduced animals, and weed invasion, Olearia solandri is now classified as " At Risk - Declining ".




The exquisite olearia owlet moth ( Meterana exquisita ) is found solely on, or in the vicinity of, the Olearia spp. More specifically, the small-leaved Olearia hectorii, O. odorata, O. lineata, O. fimbriata, O. solandri and O. bullata, and has existed alongside these plants for millions of years.



exquisite olearia owlet moth
Exquisite olearia owlet moth (Meterana exquisita). Photo by Carey Knox. https://inaturalist.nz/observations/192427514

This moth is found nowhere else in the world! The colouring and pattern of this exquisite beauty resemble lichen and provide a perfect camouflage that blends in well with its habitat. The species has only one generation each year.


While the caterpillars feed on the tree daisies' leaves for one month before they pupate, adults, that are on the wing at night from August to December, sip on the flower nectar, providing the vital pollination service that is essential for the species' survival.

Due to the elimination of its host plant, the moth is now classified as “At Risk - Relict" and has disappeared from some locations completely.


It is therefore important to highlight the importance of including this hardy native species in our gardens and landscapes, where it provides not only the aesthetic value, but more importantly, an array of ecological services at the same time.




Source:

Eadie F., (2014). 100 best native plants for New Zealand gardens: Random House New Zealand

Gabites I., (2015) The Coastal Garden: Potton & Burton

New Zealand Plant Conservation Network 2025. Retrieved from http://www.nzpcn.org.nz

iNaturalist NZ. Retrieved from http://www.inaturalist.nz

Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand trust|Pūrerehua Aotearoa. Retrieved from http://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz

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