FOOD AND POISON

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 27 November 1936, Page 12

FOOD AND POISON

THE KARAKA TREE MAORI UTILISATION (Contributed by Dominion Museum.) The karaka tree (Corynocarpus laevigata) when in fruit, with its wealth of I golden berries, is a familiar sight to ; the inhabitants of the coastal regions ' of th r North Island, and this year , gives promise of another good seed crop, since the trees are heavily laden 1 with the somewhat inconspicuous panicles of greenish-golden flowers. At one time this tree was thought to : be the sole member of the plant family Corynocarpaceae and to occur ■ : only in New Zealand, but two species have now been established from Melanesia, thus giving colour to the tradition that the karaka was brought 1 ■ 'o New Zealand by the first Maoris, 1 ; who planted groves of it to obtain the : berries for food. The karaka fruit is = unusual in that it provides both a food i and a deadly poison; and the early 1 : process of utilising the berries is an 1 ’ interesting one. The ripe fruits were , I gathered from the coastal groves. i which were always rigidly preserved i and placed in pits nearby for a day I or so. They were then removed and e ! placed in baskets and left under water 5 at the mouth of some stream for ane other day or two. This removed the J" poisonous substance, and the kernels ’ were then thoroughly washed and L ' cleansed from the pulp and skin, and s finally spread out to dry in the sun. n When perfectly dry they were packed s into baskets for storage until re- ' quired for winter use at feasts or for C supplies. Sometimes the fresh pulp c was eaten by the Maoris, but the ? kernel is highly poisonous unless I treated as above or steeped in salt J water. The poisoning, which is due t to an essential oil contained in the kernel, produces convulsions and \ rigidity, and the remedies pursued by y the natives were extremely drastic, y When an attack commenced the victim was either plunged repeatedly in the sea or buried in a sand-pit up to I his neck, in a standing position, where n he was left until the attack subsided, s- This prevented distortion of the limbs, n and usually was effective. The karaka forms the mam elemen, in the coastal scrub in the environs II . , r-i oacilv Pfitab-

of Cook Strait, and easily establishes itself in poor situations and grows rapidly. Us handsome foliage of shining leaves is browsed by cattle and horses, and the berries form a plentiful supply of bird food. The timber is white and easily split, but very perishable, and of no special use except for inlaying or as firewood.