wineberry with tart red fruit loved by birds

Size
Height: 800–1200 cm
Lifespan
30–50 years
Diet
Absorbs nutrients through roots. Requires bright light and disturbed soil to establish. Fast growth demands high nutrient uptake. Relies on birds for seed dispersal to new gaps.
Habitat
Lowland and montane forests throughout New Zealand. A tree of the edges, the gaps, the clearings. Often found along stream banks, on slip faces, and in regenerating bush where the light is bright.
Range
Found throughout the North and South Islands, Stewart Island, and the Chatham Islands. Most common in regenerating bush, forest margins, along stream banks, and on slip faces, from sea level to 800 metres elevation.
Endemism
Endemic
Main Threats
None significant. This species is common in regenerating bush and along forest margins throughout the country. It is a fast-growing pioneer that is often one of the first trees to colonise a clearing. No major threats.
Population
Not Threatened. The Wineberry is common in regenerating bush and along forest margins throughout the country. It is a fast-growing pioneer that is often one of the first trees to colonise a clearing or a slip. It is not rare.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Human Risk
harmless
Handling Note
native broadleaf tree/shrub, edible fruit safe to handle
Conservation Note
Endemic shrub or small tree; widespread in lowland and montane forests throughout New Zealand.
Assessment
NZTCS Vascular Plants (2023)
Te Ao Māori
Makomako. The name is rhythmic, playful. In Māori tradition, the Wineberry was a tree of the forest. It was a source of fruit and of medicine. The berries were eaten. They were sweet and juicy. They were a treat for the children. The leaves were used to treat wounds and skin infections. The bark was used for cordage and for dye. The tree was also a sign. A clearing with makomako was a place that was healing. It was a place where the forest was returning. The makomako was the first responder. It held the soil. It fed the birds until the giants could return.
It races towards the light. Wineberry is the soft one, the fast one, the tree that looks like it is in a hurry. Its leaves are large, soft, and deeply toothed. They look like the leaves of a grape vine or a maple. They are bright green on top and paler underneath. They are arranged opposite each other along the branch. The leaves are not tough like the rātā or leathery like the karo. They are soft, almost floppy. They catch the light. What makes it special? The speed. The Wineberry is one of the fastest-growing native trees in New Zealand. It can put on two or three metres of height in a year when it is young. It races towards the light. It is a pioneer. It is a coloniser. It takes advantage of disturbance. When a slip clears a hillside or a tree falls in the forest, the Wineberry is often the first to appear. Its seeds are carried by birds. They are dropped in the open gap. They germinate quickly in the bright light. The flowers are another clue. The Wineberry produces clusters of small, pinkish-red flowers in spring. They are not large. Each flower is maybe a centimetre across. But they are produced in profusion. They are heavily scented. The flowers are a magnet for insects. Bees, flies, and beetles are the tree's primary pollinators. The fruit is a small, dark red or black berry. It is about the size of a pea. The berries are produced in abundance in summer. They are a favourite food of the kererū, the tūī, and the bellbird. The birds eat the berries. They digest the flesh. They carry the seeds to new locations. The Wineberry is a tree that depends on its feathered gardeners. The leaves of the Wineberry have another secret. When they are crushed, they smell like green apples. It is a fresh, sweet scent that is surprisingly strong. Rub a leaf between your fingers and you will smell it. The tree is sometimes called "New Zealand currant" because of its fruit. But "wineberry" is the common name that stuck. The wood of the Wineberry is light, soft, and pinkish-brown. It was used by Māori for tools, for the handles of adzes, for the frames of houses. It is not a strong wood. But it is easy to work. The tree is too small and too scattered to be commercially valuable. Biologically, the Wineberry is a short-lived tree. It grows fast. It lives fast. It dies young. A Wineberry might live for 50 or 60 years. That is a blink of an eye in the forest. It races towards the light. It produces its flowers and fruit. Then it fades away as the slower giants – the rimu, the tōtara, the kahikatea – overtop it. It is a tree of the moment. It is a tree of the gap. It lives in the fast lane. To stand under a Wineberry in fruit is to stand under a tree of dark berries. The leaves are soft. The branches are low. The fruit is hanging in clusters. The birds are feeding. The insects are buzzing. The leaves are smelling of green apples. It is a tree of the edge. It is a tree of the gap. It is a tree where the forest is healing. The Wineberry is not a king. It is not a warrior. It is the pioneer. It is the fast one. It is the tree of the gap. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as there are gaps to fill.