#2411 - Coprosma robusta - Karamu
Bonus Tetragnatha spider I only just noticed.
Originally described as Pelaphia lata.
Endemic to New Zealand coastal and lowland areas, but an increasingly serious weed in Victoria and Tasmania. The fruit is spread by birds and the plant grows readily from seed in infertile soils, and in poorly drained and exposed lands. It can also grow in a large range of altitude varying from sea level to 1,200 meters, under full sun to shady, windy and frostprone habitats.
Introduced mammals such as goats (Capra hircus) and deer (Cervus elaphus) have a severe impact on karamū, and hares (Lepus timidus) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) eat the seedlings.
The berries are edible and leaves can be brewed into a medicinal tea. The leaves are believed by Maori to have the ability to deal with kidney troubles and the bark to treat stomachache and vomiting. Karamū is rich in dyes including alizarin and purpurin. Sometimes leaves of the plant were put on stones to dye the food and preserve them after a hangi.
Lake Mangamahoe, Taranaki Ringplain, New Zealand