MAORI NATURE NOTES
FOR TRIBUNE READERS (Copyright—J.H.S.) Readers of ths “Tribune” who are interested m the Hora and bird life of New Zealand, by cutting out these Maori Nature Notes each day as they appear and tiling them in a suitable scrap book, may compile a book of reference which will be to them a source of pleasure and instruction in the years to come.
KOWHIWHI (twining) a shrub, the flowers and leaves of which are in certain seasons dark purple and the fragrant bark almost black. When used as a hedge plant and cut back, it - would seem to produce neither Hower nor fruit. From its form and foliage with the black stems, it makes a handsome garden shrub. The gum exudes from a broken surface and was prized by the Maori for its sweet scent. It was worn by men and women in a necklet of dressed flax, and found to have a soothing effect.
KARO -(black, dye) is said to be a seaside sister to the Kowhiwhi, but the leaves are thick and hairy, a provision against drought and the ravages of insects. Several varieties bear the same Maori names. As a hedge plant we refer to it as Matipo, but that is quite a different shrub. The scent of this shrub seems to be given off only at night as a guide to its dark flower, for fertilising insects.
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Bibliographic details
Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 72, 8 March 1930, Page 8
Word Count
233MAORI NATURE NOTES Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 72, 8 March 1930, Page 8
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