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.
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Bibliographic details
Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 27 November 1936, Page 12
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450FOOD AND POISON Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 27 November 1936, Page 12
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