Macropiper excelsum
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| Macropiper excelsum (G.Forst.) Miq. |
Kawakawa, Macropiper excelsum, is a small tree of which the subspecies M. excelsum excelsum is endemic to New Zealand; the subspecies M. excelsum psittacorum is found on Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and the Kermadec Islands.
It is found throughout the North Island, and as far south as Okarito on the West Coast and Banks Peninsula on the east coast of the South Island. The leaves are often covered with insect holes. The name Kawakawa in Māori refers to the bitter taste of the leaves, from kawa bitter.[1]
Kawakawa is a traditional medicinal plant of the Māori. An infusion is made from the leaves or roots, and used for bladder problems, boils, bruises, to relieve pain or toothache, or as a general tonic. The sweet yellow berries (most often found in summer on female trees) of the plant were eaten as a diuretic.
The leaves of this plant are used to make Titoki Liqueur which is exported to Japan, Australia, Fiji and the United Kingdom. The seeds of this plant could be used commercially as culinary spice, as this tree is related to Piper nigrum (Black pepper).
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[edit] Notes
- ^ It has also been surmised that when Māori first came to New Zealand, they recognised that the plant was a close relative of Piper methysticum, the plant from which kava is made in the tropical Pacific. However given that Macropiper species also occur in tropical Polynesia, it is more likely they simply applied the name of those plants to the New Zealand variety. In the Cook Islands and the Marquesas for instance, M.latifolium is known as 'Kavakava-atua'; in Samoa it is called 'Ava'ava-aitu'. M. latifolium is very similar in appearance to the New Zealand species, and is also used in traditional medicine in the Cook Islands.
[edit] References
- Brooker S.G., R.C. Cambie & R.C. Cooper, New Zealand Medicinal Plants. Heinemann, Auckland, 1981.
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