Macropiper excelsum seeds – ( Kawakawa)

Description

This plant is a New Zealand native which has glossy heart shaped dark green leaves on a small bush. It produces large quantities of yellow fruit, rather like small candles in December to january.
The plant is a very useful one as a shade tolerating understory vegetation plant as it generates enough shade to discourage most weeds, but it won’t tolerate frost and wind will damage it. It is a traditional Maori medicinal plant which was used in many ways.

Both the fruit and the leaves are still used today. The leaves of this plant are used for teas, culinary uses, balms, insect repellents, sunscreens, alcoholic drinks, and oils.

These seeds are supplied to us from Matakana island. Note that often only about half of the seeds will germinate, and they may take many months to germinate. It is not known why this happens.

Sow in summer and autumn on moist seed raising mix, in pots or trays and cover lightly with mix. Keep moist but not waterlogged in a warm partially shaded place . The seeds may take some time to appear – sometimes up to 1 year , and germination may only be 50% of the seeds.